Got Fat?

While the acronym MUFA does not sound too appealing, the MUFA diet and MUFA foods are popular diet trends for the New Year and beyond. MUFA is not a fad and it’s not unhealthy. A MUFA diet incorporates certain types of foods, namely fats, into a healthy and nutritious diet. The MUFA diet is not a meal replacement diet, nor does it require any special supplements or products you order in the mail. The MUFA diet recognizes that eliminating foods with fat from a diet is not the best way to lose weight. It’s not about the fat, it’s about the right type of fat.Eating low fat foods has not made a large impact on weight loss in the country, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The total amount of fat in the diet is not as important as the type of fat in the diet, Harvard reports.

What is MUFA?

MUFA stands for monounsaturated fatty acids. Monounsaturated fatty acids are labeled as “good fats” by health experts including the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association. Good fats are beneficial cholesterol levels.

Identifying MUFA Foods

Identifying MUFA foods is not difficult. MUFA foods tend to fall into certain food group categories including nuts, seeds and oils made from vegetables, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Focus on natural, not processed foods which do not contain trans fat, saturated fat or animal-based fat. Check nutrition labels or use an online nutrition guide to find foods which contain unsaturated fat. Unsaturated fats include Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.

MUFA Foods:

• Oils One type of MUFA food is cooking oils, including Canola oil, Olive oil and Sunflower oil. Less popular, but healthy is grape seed oil, a light oil which raises good cholesterol levels. Walnut oil, flax seed oil and soybean oil are also considered MUFA foods.

• Nuts and seeds including almonds, macadamia nuts, peanutsButter forms of these nuts and seeds, especially when they are not made with added sugars are also MUFA foods. Try almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower butter instead of the regular peanut butter. For snacking or for cooking, try Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pecans and walnuts.

• Avocados and olives are also considered MUFA foods. Make an avocado dip for your broiled chicken dish or add olives to your recipes.
• Dark Chocolate Finally, the food you’ve been waiting for: dark chocolate is considered a MUFA food. Use in moderation.

Caveat About MUFA Foods

MUFA foods may be part of an overall healthy diet that can help dieters lose pounds, but the should still be eaten in moderation. These foods are not the lowest calorie foods available to dieters. The list of MUFA foods is short. Dieters following a MUFA diet and incorporating MUFA foods into their diet can print out this short list.

Which Diets Incorporate MUFA Foods?

The Flat Belly Diet, by Prevention, incorporates MUFAs, Sassy water and other healthy foods in the diet plan. The Mediterranean Diet, which includes canola oil, olive oil and nuts also has MUFA diet elements.  Any diet or way of eating can be modified to include MUFA foods. Eiminate bad fat, replace it with good fat, and exercise more.

Sources

• American Diabetes Association, http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-cholesterol/faqs-fat.jsp
• American Heart Association, http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4582
• Harvard School of Public Health, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Obesity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.