As the average weight of Western men and women steadily increases, people all over the globe are looking at ways to try to lower the numbers that they are seeing on their scales each and every morning. As much as we may try to lose the weight, a good portion of us ultimately fail. Why? We aren’t armed with the correct dietary information. For example, did you know that fats are good for you? It’s true! It’s all a matter of choosing “good” fats over “bad” fats.

No matter what diet plan you may be following, your body needs fats. Trying to deprive your body of fats will just send it into a tailspin that will cause your body to go into “survival” mode and hold onto every calorie you put into your body for dear life. As a result, you will not burn any calories or fat. Let’s start with going over some of the “good” fats that we need in our diet:

The Monousaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats are good for us because they lower the LDL cholesterol (aka the “bad” cholesterol), increase HDL cholesterol (aka the “good” cholesterol) and it lowers are total cholesterol. High cholesterol is something that plagues many adults today and may require medication, but the good news is that it is generally reversible as long as you begin eating these delicious and healthy fatty foods:

Nuts: All nuts are great for the heart as they help lower overall cholesterol, ad they also are a great source of soluble fiber calories. Not only that, but nuts make a fast, easy and satisfying snack for anyone on a diet. Macadamia nuts have the highest amount of monounsaturated fat content, but you should also try hazelnuts, almonds and pecans.

Olives/Olive Oil: What can’t you use olive oil for? Olives and olive oil are great for your heart, and both contain polyphenols and vitamin E (two nutrients that are both antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties).

Dark Chocolate: Every woman some where is celebrating over this one. Though one should never over indulge on any food, dark chocolate is a great way to get some monounsaturated fats into your diet, as well as flavonoids (a nutrient that helps lower blood pressure and protect your cells from cancer).

Avocados: Avocados go a long way in helping everyone, women in particular, lower their cholesterol.

The Polyunsaturated Fats

Just like the monounsaturated fats, these fats will help lower the total cholesterol in one’s body as well as the LDL cholesterol. The other great part about these fats is that they contain the “omega” fatty acids, nutrients that help support brain health ad that have cancer-righting properties. Ingesting an appropriate amount of polyunsaturated fats means that you will be helping prevent a number of serious illnesses, such as:

• Cancer
• Arthritis
• Obesity
• Heart disease
• Immune system deficiencies

Some foods that offer quick and easily attainable polyunsaturated fats include:

• Oily fish, such as salmon
• Pumpkin and sesame seeds
• Walnuts
• Vegetable oils (such as safflower ad sunflower oil)