Five types of food rich in good fats

Contrary to the belief that eating low fat food will make you lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle, what really matters is the type of fat that you eat.

Our bodies need fat as a source of energy and to manufacture tissues and hormones. Even though we give great emphasis on how to lose fat through exercise or our diet, an intake of fat is also necessary for our body to function.

Split into monosaturated and polyunsaturated, the 'good' type are unsaturated fats which are found predominantly in plant foods such as fruit, seeds, nuts and vegetables. Certain long chain Omega 3 fats in foods such as oily fish and flaxseed can help to prevent against certain cancers, heart disease and depression.

Here are five types of food rich in the good fats:

• For cooking, use canola or rapeseed oil. The lighter oil is much better for cooking than the more popular olive oil and has a better omega 3 to 6 ratio.
• Grind hemp seeds to make milk or oil. The oil is of high nutritional value because it has a high omega 3 ratio
• Avocado is a great replacement for butter on a sandwich
• Nuts which can be eaten whole or processed
• Oily fish such as salmon, tuna or mackerel

Saturated, the 'bad' type, are found in items such as butter, the fat on meats, fatty meat products, full fat dairy food and takeaway meals. Trans fats (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils) also fall into this category and fats are found in a number of processed food including cakes, biscuits and pastries.

Cutting out the bad fats means cutting out snacking and in that effort Slimsticks can help. Taking Slimsticks helps to curb craving and ensures users don't fall for the urge to eat processed snacks or foods that contain high levels of saturated fat.

Registered dietitian and nutritional advisor for Slimsticks, Jane Freeman says: "Nutritionally, reducing saturated fat intake is a good strategy for reducing calories however; some fats should be eaten as they form an important part of a healthy diet. Omega 3 fatty acids are particularly good for you, which you'll find in oily fish and in rapeseed oil. When assessing your diet don't cut out fat that will limit the fat soluble vitamins."