First of all, WELCOME to my new BLOG!  While it’s still the same Eat Well Charleston, you’ll notice I’m now publishing this blog under WordPress, which I hope makes following my blog and navigating for recipes, meal ideas and nutrition tips a much easier process.  Many thanks goes out to my dear friend, Elyse Salamon, who helped me every step of the way in transferring over to the new site.  She’s also the brains behind the new Eat Well Charleston logo and layout of the site! Thanks Elyse!  As always, stay tuned for more…

On to Clean Eating Week 5 of 6 – we’re almost there!  Last week I found to be quite an enjoyable experience.  I made an effort to drink more water (with cucumber slices) and cut down a bit on the coffee each morning; substituting a cup of the coffee with warm water with lemon and ginger, or green tea.  I’ve also cut out the Diet Coke to one can per week (my gal pal Natalie Turner wisely suggested doing what she does – that is, saving a can for Sundays!  Thanks Nat!).  Hope that you’ve been able to reach your personal goals and make it a mission to drink more water and other unadulterated beverages.

For Week 5 I want to talk about good and bad fats.  The “good” ones I’ve been blogging about for over a year now – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.   If you’ve been following this blog, you know that these are the fats that research shows helps to lower risk of heart disease, and consuming them won’t increase your risk of other chronic diseases like cancer or diabetes.   Food sources of these fats – like avocados, olives and nuts – are also rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.  Seek out fats from olive, grape seed, canola, sesame, peanut, flaxseed, walnut, or avocado oils most often.  Cook mostly with olive or grapeseed oils, bake with canola oil, and enjoy making marinades or dressings with extra virgin olive oil.

The fats we want to cut back on or eliminate are saturated and trans.  If you consume meats, you won’t rid your diet of both entirely, but it’s best to keep your intake of both at a minimum.  That’s because research has shown saturated fats raise bad cholesterol and heart disease risk (high amounts even limit blood flow in the arteries), and large intakes are linked to chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes too.  Saturated fats are primarily derived from high fat meat, full-fat dairy, bacon, cheese, gravy, etc. but they are also present in tropical oils like palm, palm kernel and coconut.   Trans fats are just an all around bad-boy that should be avoided.  These guys raise bad cholesterol, called LDL, lower the good cholesterol, HDL, increase inflammation in the body, and basically raise risk of disease and ill-health on every level (think diabetes, heart disease, cancer).  Trans fats are found naturally in meat but to a greater extent wreak havoc on our health thanks to the man-made fat partially hydrogenated oil.   Partially hydrogenated fats used to be found in just about every packaged food product out there – from shortening to coffee creamers, candy bars, baked goods, french fries and bread….but because the press got hold of just how bad trans fats are, and thanks to food label regulations requiring manufacturers to list trans content in foods, there has been a decrease.  Problem is, most manufacturers just subbed out the trans with an equally bad fat, saturated.

So what’s a health-conscious consumer like you to do?

1.  Read food labels.  If you see palm, palm kernel or partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients list – don’t buy it.   Even if the package says “trans fat free” – if partially hydrogenated oil is still listed, and you eat a bit over the serving size, it’s not “free” anymore.  Watch out for coconut oil too.  Although there has been an upswing in intake of this fat, there is little research to show the saturated content in this fat is okay; and the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil have not been studied well for all their purported health benefits.  Stay tuned here…

2.  Read the Nutrition Facts Panel on a food label, and limit most snack foods to < 2 grams of saturated fat per serving; entrees or meals to less than 4.

3.  To cut saturated fat even further, choose nonfat or low-fat dairy.  Trim visible fat from meat and choose lean options (filet, sirloin, tenderloin), buy grass-fed beef, remove skin from poultry and choose white meat, cut back on cheeses, nix the bacon, and enjoy more fish.

4. Go meatless!  Try Meatless Mondays and challenge family and friends to do the same.  But meatless does not equate to gobs of cheese – so be cautious here.

5.  Don’t buy packaged, processed food at all!  Fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds and beans are all naturally low or free of saturated fats and totally void of trans fat.

6. Cook more at home.  Follow this blog for tasty recipe and meal ideas and get comfortable in the kitchen.  If you prepare your meals you know exactly what is going in them, and that’s the only way you’re really going to eat clean.

Good luck!  Please comment with other ideas and changes you’ve made to eat more clean in the New Year!