How to Avoid Unhealthy Fats in Vegetarian Meals

There was a time when most of us thought that we were supposed to avoid all fats as much as possible. These days, though, nutritionists draw a distinction between good fats and bad fats.

The bad fats are the saturated fats and, even worse, the trans fats.

Trans fats are man-made fats that are used to increase products' shelf life. They are found in many processed foods. If you are a vegetarian cooking all your food from scratch from fresh ingredients, you won't have to worry about trans fats. But if you buy anything that comes in a package, beware.

You should check the labels on the packaged food that you buy. Starting in January, 2006, the federal government required manufacturers to list the amount of trans fat on their labels if there is more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. You can also identify trans fats by looking at the list of ingredients, where they will be called "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" or "vegetable shortening." There is no safe amount of trans fats, and they should be avoided as much as possible.

Saturated fats come from animal products. For vegetarians, that means dairy products. I'm not a vegetarian myself, but when I cook vegetarian dishes, I sometimes like to smother them in cheese or cream sauces. This is not good! Dairy products do have important nutrients, so the goal is not to cut them out entirely. Moderation is the key, along with substituting low-fat milk and cheese for their full-fat equivalents, and substituting olive oil, when cooking, for butter. And, alas, heavy cream should be avoided altogether -- or, if that's impossible, at least saved for very special, and rare, occasions.

The good fats are the poly- and mono-unsaturated fats. Olive oil, nuts, and avocados are examples of fatty foods that are actually good for you. Moderation again is important, at least if you're concerned about your weight, because these foods have a lot of calories. On the other hand, it's good for your health to eat a small amount of these foods every day. The experts say that eating a handful of nuts daily can help prevent heart attacks! So you can enjoy them without feeling guilty.

A little knowledge goes a long way. It's not difficult to learn how to sort out the good fats from the bad fats. Applying that knowledge can lead to big dividends in improved health.