Choosing Healthier Fats

Excessive amounts of fat in your bloodstream can stick to your arteries, causing them to constrict blood flow. When you have diabetes, these fats become stickier and cause even more buildup.

The buildup increases with age, narrowing your arteries, too. When the space inside your arteries shrinks, you develop high blood pressure (hypertension), and a higher risk for heart attack and stroke.

When you eat wisely, choosing healthier fats such as olive oil instead of butter or margarine (or even dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate), and cut some processed or fried foods out of your meal plan, you significantly reduce the risks to your health.

Fats are not the root of all evil. In fact, fats:

1. Help your body and brain work.
2. Transport essential vitamins (A, D, and E).
3. Make skin and hair look healthy.
4. Educe hunger feelings.
5. Make food taste good.