For years I've heard you shouldn't eat fats - sharing - Brief Article - Letter to the Editor

For years I've heard you shouldn't eat fats. Lately, I've been hearing that you should eat them. It reminds me of the movie "Sleeper," when Woody Allen wakes up in the future to discover hamburgers and French fries are health food.

Houston Stapp
Deland, Fla. (via e-mail)

In real life Woody would get a wake-up call that certain fats are crucial. Essential fatty acids are divided into two groups: omega-6s and omega-3s. Knowing the molecular differences between them is less important than knowing you must have both in your diet. Each plays an important role in regulating cholesterol and critical bodily functions involving the heart, kidneys, liver, digestive tract and sex organs. Vegetable oils contain omega-6 fatty acids but little omega-3, which is found in cold-water fish. For people who don't eat meat, flaxseed is a great omega-3 source. Avoid hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats (read product labels), as well as saturated fats (the white fat in beef, for instance), which you can recognize because they don't melt at room temperature.

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