Fats: Who's your friend and who's your enemy

You must've heard about the dietary fats in the meals. They play a significant role in how your body uses many vitamins, and are also important for how all the cells in the body are made and work. Well, you can picture 'Fats' as something whose goodness depends on its types.

The types are:

 

• Saturated Fats: They are primarily found in dairy and meat products like poultry, butter and cream. They tend to raise levels of cholesterol in the blood. Low-density or LDP is known as bad cholesterol while High-density of HDP is known as good cholesterol. Cholesterol levels in the bloodstream have a major link with heart and blood vessel risks.

• Unsaturated Fats: This also has two subcategories, Monounsaturated fats and Polyunsaturated fats. They both are considered to be 'good' fats. To get all the benefits of it, your diet shouldn't be limited to just adding unsaturated fats in your diet but you should also reduce the intake of saturated ones.

• Monounsaturated fats: Monounsaturated fats lower the level of 'bad' cholesterol or LDP and maintain 'good' cholesterol or HDP. Its sources are olives, nuts and avocados.

• Polyunsaturated fats: Polyunsaturated fats coming from Omega 3 could aid in keeping the heart healthy, and improve joints, brain and eye health. Its sources include nuts, soybean, sunflower oils and grapeseed.

• Trans Fats: These fats are not essential but manufactured by food companies. Thus, becomes 'bad' fat, increasing the risk of heart disease, strokes and diabetes. Junk foods and packaged foods are a big example of their sources. 

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