Fats
are important in our body. Our body needs protein, carbohydrates
and fats for proper functionment. There are 3 types of fats ie
saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats
can be in the form of animal fats such as beef, poultry, lard,
milk, cheese, butter but in other forms as well like coconut oil,
palm oil, chocolate, macadamia nuts, pistachios and they are not
good for health as they are the primary cause for cardiovascular
diseases.
On the other
hand, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are healthy
fats and they come primarily from plants. One of the major benefits
of these type of fats is that they can reduce blood cholesterol
levels(main reason for heart attacks) and increase the good kind
of cholesterol.
Some sources
of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, canola oil, peanuts, peanut
butter, olives, cashews and avocado and some sources of polyunsaturated
fats are corn oil, almonds, salmon, trout, sardine, herring, sesame
oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and walnuts. Most of these fats
contain omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids which are essential
for human health because they can reduce the risk of heart diseases,
strokes and help prevent hypertension and depression. They are
beneficial mentally as well as physically.
When you're
exercising for muscle gains and mass, fats play a fundamental
role in body growth. If you're bulking up and you aren't getting
the desired muscle gains, you might not be taking sufficient amount
of fats in your body. You need to take fats but not just any type
of fats. You need healthy fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated
to help your body to grow.
So now that
you know how healthy fats are important for your body, don't neglect
it in your nutrition.
About the
author
Jean Lam is the webmaster of Body
Building Resource which provides articles on weight training,
nutrition and fitness, body building book and DVDs.