? A real saga

Doctors have one day discovered that the more we ate fat, the more we had cardiovascular problems . Then they realized that all fats were not equal: products like cheese or meat were banned while the olive oil of Mediterranean diet was incensed. Last "fat" in vogue: omega 3 , present in fish and rapeseed vegetable oils . Except that today we realize that eliminating the fat from meat and dairy products, we risk unbalancing our diet. As a result, during the 7th Francophone Nutrition Days , in November 2008, experts advocated fat consumption without demonization or orgies.

? The right mix

Benchmarks of fat consumption recommended over a week for those who have trouble finding their way around ...

Vegetable oils (rapeseed, nuts, olive): 1 to 2 tbsp. to s. a day or a daily handful of nuts or almonds.

oily fish : you can eat it 2-3 times a week. Their fats are known to be beneficial for the arteries.

meat : its fatty acids are called "saturated", and are often pointed at the finger, but we can still consume 2 or 3 times in the week without systematically aiming for lean cuts.

dairy products (butter, milk, yogurt): butter can be spread over the morning slice of bread and a yogurt (whole or half skimmed) can be added to each meal without inflating the "fat" bill. And the milk, even whole, contains only 3.6% fat per 100 ml.

Thanks to Jean-Michel Lecerf , head of the nutrition department of the Institut Pasteur, Lille.