Fats

While fats are an essential part of your diet, too much unhealthy saturated fat or trans fat is something to be wary of.  Fats are actually a nutrient your body needs to function properly - provided you choose the right ones. Instead of cutting all fats from your diet, make sure you eat less of the unhealthy fats (saturated and trans fats) and more of the healthier varieties (poly and mono unsaturated fats).

Sources of healthier and unhealthier fats

Mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats
• fish • tahini • margarine • sunflower  oil  • canola oil  • olive oil • pine nuts • walnuts • brazil nuts • almonds • cashews • peanuts • macadamias • avocados

Omega-3s
• tuna • salmon • sardines • other oily fish • walnuts • pecans • linseeds

Try these simple tips to increase your intake of the healthier fats
• add avocado and raw unsalted nuts to salads.
• sprinkle toasted almonds over breakfast cereal.
• switch to vegetable oils and margarine
• eat fresh, canned or frozen fish twice a week.
• sprinkle ground linseed on cereal

Saturated
• palm oil • coconut milk • coconut oil • copha • animal products such as meats with fat, poultry with skin and full fat dairy foods • processed foods such as bought pastries and cakes • many fast foods and takeaway meals

Trans fat
• trans fats can occur naturally at very low levels in some animal products such as beef, veal, lamb and mutton as well as full fat dairy foods
• industrially produced trans fats are also found in processed foods such as bought pastries and cakes • many fast foods and takeaway meals

Easy ways to limit your intake of the unhealthier fats

• trimming all visible fat from meat before cooking
• removing skin from poultry
• opt for fat-reduced dairy foods.

Look for the Tick

To qualify for the Tick, vegetable oils and margarines are only allowed a maximum of 1% trans fat as part of their total fats (this is half the amount allowed by Denmark, the first government to take a hard line on trans fats). Other foods with the Tick are required to be free of industrially produced (artificial) trans fat to qualify.

The Heart Foundation is currently lobbying government for the mandatory labelling of trans fats to enable people to make informed decisions about the foods they purchase.