Daily Health Tip: Fat…..Friend or Foe?

For decades we have been told that fat is bad for us. We were told to eat less fat and switch to low calorie higher carb diets. Many years later we’re now discovering that these recommendations have not been effective. Fat was cut. But North Americans are now fatter than ever. Type 2 diabetes has increased 166% from 1980 to 2012.  Nearly 1 in 10 adult Americans now have the disease which costs the healthcare system approximately $245 billion a year. An estimated 86 million people are prediabetic. So why has death from heart disease decreased? Better emergency care, widespread use of statins and less smoking may be the reason for it. Despite this, heart disease is still the number one killer. Eating fats found in nuts, vegetables like avocados and olives and in fish like salmon is purported to be protective against heart disease.