Avoid unhealthy fats, Filipinos urged
‘Consuming too many unhealthy fats can raise bad cholesterol levels in our blood, block our arteries, and may lead to obesity, hypertension, and CVDs including stroke.’
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‘Consuming too many unhealthy fats can raise bad cholesterol levels in our blood, block our arteries, and may lead to obesity, hypertension, and CVDs including stroke.’
In observance of Philippine Heart Month this February, a network of public health advocates has called on Filipinos to avoid consuming unhealthy fats to help prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as heart attacks and strokes.
In a statement dated 14 February, the Healthy Philippines Alliance (HPA) explained that saturated fats and trans fats are considered unhealthy when consumed in excess, as they increase the risk of CVDs.
Saturated fats are commonly found in animal meat, dairy products like cheese and butter, and palm oil, while trans fats are present in margarine, vegetable shortening, fried foods and baked goods, and are often artificially created in processed food.
Jennina Duatin, a nutritionist-dietitian and Board of Trustee member of Diabetes Philippines, urged the public to be mindful of both the quantity and quality of fats in their diets.
“Consuming too many unhealthy fats can raise bad cholesterol levels in our blood, block our arteries and may lead to obesity, hypertension, and CVDs including stroke,” Duatin explained. “We should avoid unhealthy fats, which are commonly found in various ultra-processed food products,” she added.
Duatin recommended that Filipinos opt for healthier sources of fats, such as unsaturated fats found in avocados, fish like salmon and other local fatty fish, nuts like almonds and walnuts, seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds, and oils like canola and olive oil.
Most importantly, she emphasized the need to include more fiber in the diet from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
The World Health Organization recommends limiting the daily intake of saturated fats to 10 percent of total calories, trans fats to 1 percent, and total fat intake to 30 percent for both children and adults.
Meanwhile, industrially produced trans fats in packaged food are now banned in the country, following orders from the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Health Secretary and Board Member of HealthJustice, as well as Lead Convenor of the HPA, emphasized that effective health policies are crucial for improving the public’s food environment and the Filipino diet to prevent heart disease and other non-communicable diseases.
“We need health champions among our policymakers to fight for the health of our people and pass laws like food warning labels,” Galvez Tan said. “Not all Filipino consumers understand the fine print under the ‘Nutrition Facts’ of packaged food. We need policy interventions that help consumers easily identify products high in fats, sugars, and sodium that negatively impact overall health,” he added.
Food warning labels are front-of-pack labels that indicate when food and drink products exceed certain thresholds for risk nutrients such as sugar, sodium, trans fats and saturated fats. Several Latin American countries, including Puerto Rico, Chile and Mexico, have already implemented this measure.
Senate Bill No. 2700, or the Healthy Food Marketing Environment Act, was filed in the upper chamber earlier this year and is currently pending in the Health and Demography Committee. Its counterpart version in the House of Representatives has yet to be scheduled for a hearing in the Trade and Industry Committee.
The HPA warned that tobacco, vaping, excessive alcohol, and lack of physical activity are strongly linked to heart problems.
Galvez Tan recommended daily walking and reducing alcohol consumption while quitting smoking and vaping to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, where plaque builds up in arteries. Overweight and obesity, common risk factors for CVDs, have increased among Filipinos, from 40.2 percent in 2021 to 57.1 percent in 2023, with six out of 10 women affected.
CVDs remain the leading cause of death in the Philippines, with ischemic heart disease and stroke the top causes.
Globally, CVDs kill 17.9 million people annually.
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