Sometimes, foods containing saturated fats are not that obvious. To understand your lifestyle habits and test your knowledge of hidden fats, play the quiz, selecting the foods with the lowest saturated fat to see how heart healthy your knowledge is!
According to the NHS 1.5g of saturates or less per 100g is low in saturated fats and 5g or more is high.
Fats are an integral part of a healthy diet, as a source of essential fatty acids and playing an important role in the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D and E.
However, not all fats are created equal, and it’s important to focus on getting more of the healthy fats and less unhealthy fats which can negatively impact our health.
We know that we need fat in our diet, but how do we know it’s the right kind?
There are three main types of fats found in food: saturated fats, polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats.
You can find out more about the different kinds of fats here, but as part of a healthy, balanced diet, you should aim to cut down on food and drink containing high saturated fats and replace them with low or unsaturated options.
Having too much saturated fat in your diet can raise “bad” cholesterol or ‘LDL’ in your blood which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. Cholesterol, a waxy substance made by the liver is carried in blood as either ‘LDL’, also known as low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol or ‘HDL’ as ‘good’ cholesterol. Although your body needs cholesterol to function, too much can cause problems and increase your risk of heart disease. Find out more about cholesterol here.
It’s hard enough to understand all the types of fats, but when it comes to saturated fats, they are found in a lot of foods, both sweet and savoury.
They are typically hard at room temperature and found in the highest quantity in animal products, including meat and dairy as well as palm and coconut oil.
Think fatty cuts of meat, processed meats, cooking fats, hard cheeses, baked goods and cream desserts.
When it comes to maintaining your heart health, it isn’t just about what you eat but your lifestyle too. Getting the right amount of sleep and exercise is fundamental to good heart and brain health, with a lack of both impacting your metabolism, raising blood pressure, causing inflammation and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
At least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week is the average recommended for adults. If you are thinking about incorporating more exercise, consider following a fitness plan or slowly adjusting with exercise that’s managable.
Adults need on average seven to nine hours of sleep for a good nights rest and to allow your body to rest and recuperate. If you’re getting less than 6 hours, you’re at a higher risk of heart disease, so you’ll want to take more time to sleep at night.
You can reduce the amount of unhealthy fats in your diet in manageable ways by:
Choosing reduced-fat spreads, or vegetable spreads such as Benecol products.