Cookstown District Council

Business

Environmental Health

Tips to Reduce Fat

What’s “A LOT” and what’s “A LITTLE” ?

If you want to try to cut down on fat, or you just want to watch how much fat you are eating, you can compare the labels of different food products and choose those with less total fat and less saturated fat.

You will see figures for the fat content on many food labels and some foods will also give figures for saturated fat. Use the following as a guide to what is a lot and what is a little fat per 100g food.

20g fat or more per 100g is a lot of fat

5g saturates or more per 100g is a lot

3g fat or less per 100g is a little fat

1g saturates or less per 100g is a little fat

If the amount of total fat is between 3g and 20g per 100g, this is a moderate amount of total fat. Between 1g and 5g of saturates is a moderate amount of saturated fat.

Tips for cutting down

Here are some practical suggestions to help you cut down on fat, especially saturated fat:

  • Choose lean cuts of meat and trim off any visible fat.
  • Grill, bake, poach or steam rather than frying and roasting so you don’t need to add any extra fat.
  • If you choose something high in fat such as a meat pie, pick something low fat to go with it to make the meal lower in fat – for example you could have a baked potato instead of chips.
  • When you’re choosing a ready meal or buying another food product, compare the labels so you can pick those with less total fat or less saturated fat.
  • Put some extra vegetables, beans or lentils in your casseroles and stews and a bit less meat.
  • Measure oil for cooking with tablespoons rather than pouring it straight from a container.
  • Have pies with only one crust rather than two- either a lid or a base – because pastry is very high in fat.
  • When you’re making sandwiches, try not using any butter or spread if the filling is moist enough. When you do use fat spread, go for a reduced-fat variety and choose one that is soft straight from the fridge so it’s easier to spread thinly.
  • Choose lower fat versions of dairy foods whenever you can. This means semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, reduced fat yoghurt, lower fat cheeses or very strong tasting cheese so you don’t need to use as much.
  • Instead of cream or soured cream try using yoghurt or fromage frais in recipes.

Omega 3 fatty acids

Oily fish is the best source of omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids have been shown to help protect against coronary heart disease.

Some omega 3 fatty acids are found in certain vegetable oils, such as linseed, flaxseed, walnut and rapeseed, but these aren’t the same type of fatty acids as those found in fish.

Recent evidence suggests that the type of fatty acids found in vegetable sources may not have the same benefits as those in fish.