The problems with a healthy breakfast and balanced diet don’t end with their poor rating on the calorie stakes. Not only do we need to cut back on the total amount of fat we eat, we also need to think about the type of fat we eat. This means thinking about where the fat comes from.

Is it from an animal source, like the fat in and around a pork chop or the fat in a steak and kidney pie, the skin on your roast chicken or the butter you’ve slapped on your toast? Or is it instead from the oils found in fish such as tuna and mackerel, and in some nuts, seeds and vegetables? Although weight for weight all fats supply the same calories, your body deals with them differently.

The animal sources are high in what we call saturated fats. These seem to be able to raise cholesterol levels in the blood, which can increase the risk of fatty lumps building up on artery walls. This can make you more prone to heart disease.

Fats from the plant world, on the other hand, tend to be unsaturated and don’t have this effect on cholesterol levels in the blood. They also have the advantage of supplying us with so called ‘essential fats’, which are vital for the instigation and regulation of many activities in the body. Mums need plenty when pregnant to feed their baby’s growing brain, infants need lots to continue this brain growth, kids need them for proper development of sight and hearing, and adults need them for good skin and for hormonal balance.

When you translate all this into daily eating habits, it means you do need some fats every day. Just try to make sure that you stick within the suggested number of grams for your sex, that you cut back on the animal ones to help your heart, and that you include fats from plants and fish so that you’re getting the vital ‘essential’ fats.

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