How to Find Low Fat Foods

Saturated fats, unsaturated fats, transfats, good fats and bad fats are making us crazy. Knowing the difference between these fats can help us find low fat foods. Food labels can be confusing too. We look at the amount of fat and think it's a low fat food until we read the serving size. Here are a few tips to help you find low fat foods.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Bad Fats

1. Avoid saturated fats and transfats. Saturated fats are usually from animal sources and include meat and dairy products. Instead of avoiding these fats altogether, choose low fat meats like chicken, turkey and fish. Choose dairy products that are reduced in fat or low fat such as low fat milk, cheese and those made with skim milk.
2. Remove most of the visible fat from the meat. Red meats are "marbled" and have streaks of fat in the meat itself, so remove most of the visible fat. Some people cook the meat with the fat on, then remove it before eating. This helps remove some of the fats but the food is not considered low fat.
3. Avoid transfats as much as possible. Transfats are man made fats for cooking and include many types of margarine and shortening. Transfats are made to remain solid at room temperature. Transfats are used for frying and baking; avoid fried foods and baked goods when on a low fat diet.

Good Fats

4. Eat foods like salmon, which are high in omega fats. Although not considered low fat, the fat is a "good" fat and healthy for you.
5. Use vegetable oil for deep frying foods. These fats are much healthier for you than transfats, but must be used in moderation.
6. Add olive oil to your diet instead of saturated fats. Olive oil is much more low-fat than butter for cooking.

Low Fat Foods and Tips

7. Read the nutrition label on the food before buying. Check the percentage of the DV for fats. The DV is the "daily value" recommended. To be considered low fat, the DV of the total fat content is below 5 percent. The total fat includes saturated and unsaturated.
8. Buy low fat foods by reading the "claim" on the front of the package. Some packages are labeled "reduced fat" or "low fat" depending on their DV of total fats. Make sure you read the nutritional information on the label as well.
9. Substitute low fat and reduced fat when possible. Instead of buying a cream soup, buy a soup that has broth. Instead of buying half-and-half for coffee, use skim milk or non-fat dry milk powder. Instead of buying tuna packed in oil, buy tuna packed in water.