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Fats form a very important part of a heart healthy diet. But these days we're confronted with many conflicting recommendations about what types of fats are healthy, especially for cardiovascular health.
The aim of this article is to summarise the types of fats and the role they play in preventing and managing cardiovascular health.
Fats – the good the bad and the ugly
Research indicates that low-fat diets should be replaced with modified fat diets. This means that fats in the diet should be increased, but the focus should be on increasing the good fats like mono-unsaturated fats (MUFA) and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats (PUFA). Saturated fats and trans fats should form the smallest part of the fat intake of the diet.
Carbohydrates should be slightly decreased in the diet, but not eliminated. Carbohydrates include starches and sugars but also fruit, starchy vegetables and milk products (excluding cheese).
Lean protein should also be increased in the diet. Good lean proteins are fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines. Ostrich and venison are very low in fat and high in iron, thus good red meat substitutes. Skinless chicken breasts and extra-lean pork should also form part of the diet.
Saturated fats are mainly animal fats including the visible and invisible fats from meat products, processed meat products, the skin of the chicken, full-cream milk products, cream and butter, hard cheeses/yellow cheeses, prawns, coconut butter and oil, and egg yolk.
Trans fatty acids, also known as trans fats or hydrogenated fats, are man-made, processed fats. Trans fats are often found in hard block margarine, take-away foods (unless indicated that it's trans-fat free, e.g. foods from Woolworths and Nando’s), commercially baked confectionery products such as scones, muffins, cakes, croissants etc. Numerous medical trials indicate that saturated fats are associated with increased cholesterol levels, hypertension, fatty liver disease and certain cancers.
MUFA fats, on the other hand, decrease cholesterol and blood pressure and are good for eye health, the function of the brain, and they protect DNA against damage, thereby slowing the ageing process.
PUFA omega-3 fats assist in thinning the blood, thereby preventing blood clotting. They are also strong anti-inflammatory fats, preventing and treating inflammation in the joints and other parts of the body.
Practical tips for a heart-healthy diet
• Remove all visible fat from meat cuts. A lamb chop with all visible fat removed has less than 5% fat whereas a chop eaten with the visible fat has more than 20% fat per 100g. Include more lean cuts like ostrich, venison, skinless chicken cuts and extra lean pork fillets.
• Choose low-fat processed meats (or try to avoid them completely) – read labels and look for less than 5g fat per 100g.
• Don't eat cheese more than once per day. The portion size shouldn't exceed the size of a matchbox (30g).
Tip: Grate the cheese to increase the volume.
• Use plain Bulgarian yoghurt in recipes rather than cream.
• Use canola oil in baking rather than sunflower oil.
• Don't deep fry foods – rather pan fry with olive oil. Don't heat the oil to smoking point. Don't re-use heated oil.
• Add nuts to a fruit for a snack.
• Sprinkle linseeds or flaxseeds over a salad or cereal.
• Use peanut butter/almond butter as a spread rather than a spread high in salt (Marmite/Oxo) or high in sugar (syrup, honey or jam).
• Add olives and/or avocado to a salad.
• Include salmon/sardines/mackerel/trout at least 2 to 3 times per week in your eating plan or consider a good omega-3/6 supplement. The ratio of omega-3 should be higher than omega-6 in the supplement.
• One fat portion equals more or less: 40g avocado, or 10 olives, or 10 nuts (10g), or 2 teaspoons of peanut/almond butter, or 2 teaspoons olive oil, or 2 teaspoons canola oil margarine.
