Men's Muscle Building Resources

If you are on a body building program or just looking to lose weight and get a ripped look then it is important to also eat healthily. It is easy, when following some programs, to overlook the fact that the foods you may be consuming may not be ideal to stay healthy over the long term. Dietary fats are particularly important for two reasons: fat contains more calories per gram than glucose and protein and so are not ideal if you are looking to lose fat; fat is responsible for increasing the body’s cholesterol levels which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The good news is that the consumption of dietary fats as decreased over the last twenty years and most people realise that fat is the principal villain, in the modern western diet, of the cause of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. However, there is still some confusion over the difference between “bad” fats and “good” fats. Fat is important in the diet because some fats are essential to normal physiological functioning and are not made naturally by the body, such as linoleic acid. Fat in food is also essential for the absorption of fat soluble vitamins in the gastrointestinal tract.

There are two types of dietary fat, saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are known as the “bad” fats and are found in animal fats, especially beef and lamb. Fish fried in fat, dairy products such as full fat milk and cheese also contain large amounts of saturated fat. Fast foods, such as burgers are often cooked in animal fats and therefore contain a lot of saturated fats. Saturated fats are largely responsible for increases in cholesterol and triglycerides which increase the risk of disease

Unsaturated or “good” fats can be found in certain oils such as rapeseed oil and soyabean oil. Replacing animal fats with these fats during cooking can help reduce the intake of saturated fats. Cooking methods such as grilling instead of frying will also reduce saturated fat intake.

In order to lose weight or fat it is important to reduce overall fat intake in the diet. However, in order to stay healthy it is also important to look at the quality of fat in the body and reduce the intake of saturated fats. Eating more vegetables and fruit can be a more healthy alternative which will leave you feeling without without increasing your fat intake.

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