Do You Need an Oil Change?

Do You Need an Oil Change?
Healthy fats and oils can provide major health benefits.
For example, some omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats are
important for maintaining good health of the body and
brain. In addition, healthy fats and oils can help people
absorb nutrients such as Vitamins A, D, E or carotenoids.
To get the full nutritional value in a salad, it's good to
have some healthy fat or oil at the same time.

The omega-3 fats are found in cold-water fish such as
salmon, tuna, and mackerel. Vegetarian sources of
omega-3's are flaxseeds, soybeans and walnuts, and to some
extent leafy green vegetables and sea vegetables. Omega-3s
may help heal inflammation and increase metabolism. These
healthy fats can contribute to a youthful appearance making
skin, hair and nails healthy.

Because of their high levels of omega-3 fats, fish oils
have been shown to help improve a variety of conditions. As
part of a balanced diet, fish oils may help with arthritis,
colitis, depression, psoriasis, menstrual cramps, multiple
sclerosis, and problems with memory and attention. Omega-6
fats are found in many nuts, seeds and seed oils (walnuts,
almonds, sesame seeds are examples), and in soybeans.

Unhealthy fats and oils are those that can undermine health
or those that lack nutritional value. For example, certain
saturated fats and oils can contribute to health problems.
Frequent consumption of high-fat animal foods such as
bacon, chicken skin, and butter, can mean too much
saturated fat in the diet, increasing the risk of diabetes,
weight gain, inflammation, and cardiovascular problems.

There are two simple steps you can take to help lower your
intake of saturated fat. First, choose only lean cuts of
meat, and skip anything deep-fried. Second, when having
dairy products, switch to nonfat and lowfat varieties.

Trans fats are the most dangerous fats. They interfere with
the body's normal chemistry and actually block effects of
the essential fats. They may be twice as bad as saturated
fat in increasing the risk of heart disease. They
contribute to weight gain, inflammation and depositing of
fat around the waistline.

The kinds of products that contain trans fats such as
hydrogenated vegetable oil, include breads, rolls and
pastries, cookies, cakes, crackers as well as many types of
fried food. Avoid consuming trans fats by reading the
labels on food you buy from a store. Skip anything with
hydrogenated oil or partially-hydrogenated oil on the label.

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Dr. Leo Galland is a board-certified internist in private
practice in New York City. Jonathan Galland is a health
writer and Co-Author of The Fat Resistance Diet, available
in paperback at Amazon.com. For a free one-day meal plan
and recipes, visit http://www.fatresistancediet.com .