JUST NEVER GIVE UP!

Cut out all hydrogenated fats and oils and enjoy that juicy steak.

OK, what about unsaturated fats?

There are two types of unsaturated fats. Poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated.

It is generally believed that all unsaturated fats are OK, but this is not case. Poly-unsaturated fats are bad for your health and are consumed in excessive amounts. They should be avoided.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in safflower, corn, sunflower and ... soybean vegetable oils. They remain liquid at room temperature. They do not have any redeeming health benefits. They are widely used because they are cheap and although they contain Omega 6 essential fatty acids most people get far too much Omega 6 which must be partially offset by Omega 3 essential fatty acids. More on that shortly!

Switch your polyunsaturated oils to mono-unsaturated.

The most common sources of mono-unsaturated fats are olive oil, rapeseed oil, hazelnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, avocado, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds.

Oils made from these foods are much more stable at high temperatures than poly-unsaturated alternatives, and they do not have negative health implications. The best oil for cooking is without doubt EXTRA virgin olive oil. I put 'extra' in caps because it so important.

Most of mono-unsaturated oils have been through varying degrees of processing. The more processing, greater is loss of nutrients. The best is cold mechanically pressed oils which are often processed in darkness because of sensitivity of these oils to light and oxidation.

Studies have shown that a quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil will help lower bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol. However, ordinary virgin olive oil makes no change.

So, only use quality mono-unsaturated oils for your cooking needs.

Where do Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids fit into all this?

This is another subject all on its own, so I will just try and give you outline in a nutshell!

As name suggests Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids are just that... they are 'essential'. Many, many ailments can be traced to a shortage of one of these ... specifically Omega 3. There are schools of thought which believe increasing incidence of brain disease is directly attributable to a shortage of Omega 3. I think that is credible.

There is no shortage of Omega 6 in typical western diet. In fact there is a general over consumption of this as it is present in most cooking oils. The problem is a deficiency of Omega 3. The optimum ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is 3:1. Over last couple of decades that ratio has got out of control where it is now estimated that ratio is something like 20:1 or maybe even as high as 50:1.

Start adding Omega 3 essential fatty acids into your regular diet. The best natural source is flax seeds. Go to your local health food store and buy some ground flax seeds (preferably organic) and sprinkle a heaped tablespoon on your food every day. You can also get omega 3 from oily fishes such as salmon. The problem there though is difficulty of getting fish which is 100% free of contaminants.