Daily Diet Tip! "Fats Help Keep Your Salad & Skin Healthy"

    Think you have to ban fatty salad dressings forever? Many dieters think losing weight means you have to cut corners (which is true) by cutting out fatty foods like salad dressing (which is not true). While it’s a fact that when you leave off fatty salad dressings you may be reducing the total number of calories in your meal, you’re also reducing the total number of carotenoids you absorb from the phytochemical-rich assortment of veggies in your salad.

Carotenoids are a class of pigments found in vegetables. They make carrots orange, green peppers green and tomatoes red, and they also act as powerful antioxidants. These healthy compounds, however, are fat-soluble, meaning they need to be digested in the presence of fats in order to cross the intestinal wall and be absorbed into the body. That means if you’re not eating some amount of fat with your salads, whether from the dressing, shredded cheeses, avocado, or other source, you won’t be able to benefit from the all the fat-soluble nutrients, carotenoids and antioxidants found in the vegetables.

How much fat do you need then? Research shows that you need to eat at least six grams of fat along with your meal in order to absorb these healthy, fat-soluble compounds. Check the label of your favorite salad dressings and opt for one that has a healthy amount of unsaturated fats, like an olive-oil based dressing. Or just add a quarter of an avocado to your salad for seven grams of fat, six of which are heart-healthy unsaturated fats.

I always take a tablespoon of flaxseed oil to keep oil in my diet and keep my skin, hair healthy. Especially when dieting for a show or photo shoot and your restricting your fat intake your skin and hair will suffer dearly. I would noticed that in both men and women when competing that their skin was so dry and blemished from the restricted diet. I found out about the taking a daily dose of flaxseed oil would be beneficial to your overall everyday heath and more so when your restricting your diet. I have never had any problems with dry or blemished skin or dry hair due to restricting my fat intake since I introduced a tablespoon of flaxseed oil into my daily diet. Infact it gives my hair and skin that extra boost to give it that healthy glow. I have received many complements on both my skin  and hair over the years and I contribute most of it to my daily doze of flaxseed oil and my healthy fit living! 

Check your health food store for other great sources of natural oil to add to your daily diet. You'll not only enjoy eating your salad more..You have great skin and hair too!