Fat Content

[ktlou]

Hi All,

(not sure if i should put this in food and drink or not but nevermind)

I'm trying to be a little better about how much fat i eat every day (not trying to lose weight, just be a little healthier). I know the recommended allowance for women is 70g a day, but is this the fat, or the saturated fat. I never know which bit to look at on the back of packets as to which bit actually counts!!

Can someone explain it to me so that I can make sure I'm looking at the right bit!! Thanks all!

[jenky]

As a little rule, if you look at the back of a packet to see the saturated fat content and it is more than 5%, ie 5g of saturated fat in each 100g serving, then we put it in the naughty section of the trolley.

[Octavius]

Just 1g of fat provides 9 calories - more than double the calories in 1g of protein or carbohydrate.

Unsaturated fat is a healthier alternative to saturated fat and can be found in vegetable oils such as sesame, sunflower, soya and olive; oily fish, such as mackerel, sardines, pilchards and salmon; and soft margarine.

In reality, many foods contain both saturated and unsaturated fats, but they're described as one or the other depending on which makes up the majority. So, a healthier unsaturated fat such as olive oil contains saturated fats, too.

Government guidelines recommend that fats make up no more than 35 per cent of your diet. For the average woman, this means about 76g of fat per day; for men, roughly 100g. In reality, though, most of us have much higher fat intakes. Ideally, we should eat sugary foods sparingly.