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Fats: The Good, The Bad and
The Ugly
It’s
not easy to get the skinny on fats. There is a lot of
information out there to sort through. Which fats are good,
bad, and ugly? What foods contain these fats? What should you
be eating regularly, occasionally, or not at all? Use this
guide to trim the fat off all you have heard.
Good
Fat
Unsaturated fats
– good fats that lower bad
cholesterol or raise good cholesterol – are found in many
forms. Unsaturated fats are the good fats. They are either
monosaturated or polyunsaturated. While unsaturated fats can
lower your blood cholesterol level and offer other health
benefits, you should moderate your fat intake because all fats
contain more than double the calories of proteins or
carbohydrates.
Monounsaturated
fats –
oils made from this fat are
liquid at room temperature, but begin to get solid when
refrigerated. Monosaturated fat lowers blood cholesterol when
used in place of saturated fats.
Food
sources: avocados, olives, peanuts, and canola, almond,
hazelnut, peanut and olive oils.
· Omega-9
is a monounsaturated fatty acid that converts to oleic acid.
High consumption is linked to reduced incidence of breast cancer
and heart disease.
Food
sources: flax, olive, evening primrose and borage oil.
Polyunsaturated
fats – oils made from this fat are liquid at both room
temperature and refrigerator temperatures. These fats turn
rancid when combined with oxygen. Polyunsaturated fat also
lowers blood cholesterol when used in place of saturated fats.
Two
important polyunsaturated fats are Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty
acids, which come mostly from fish sources. Both are essential
fatty acid (EFAs), which means the body does not naturally
produce them; they must be derived from foods.
· Omega-3
makes the blood less likely to form clots that cause heart
attacks, protect against irregular heartbeats that can cause
sudden death, and lower blood pressure.
Food sources: salmon, lake trout,
herring, sardines, mackerel, albacore, tuna, nuts, green leafy
vegetables; and safflower, flax, corn, canola and sunflower
oils.
· Omega-6
is also known as Linoleic acid, which is turned into
gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) by the body. It reduces cholesterol,
improves the effects of insulin and improves effectiveness of
the immune system.
Food
sources: evening primrose, borage, and black currant oils.
BAD FAT
Saturated
fats – Saturated fat is bad fat. These fats are solid
at room temperature and do not turn rancid when exposed to air.
Saturated fat is guilty of raising blood cholesterol levels,
which put you at a greater risk for stroke and heart disease.
UGLY FAT
Trans-fats
– Trans-fat is the biggest threat to your health, and as
many as 40% of foods in a grocery store include trans-fat.
Trans-fat is found in virtually every cookie, cracker and pastry
available, as well as being used heavily in restaurant and fast
food cooking. You are most likely to find it on an ingredient
label as a “partially hydrogenated” vegetable fat (e.g. soybean
oil, etc). To help foods stay fresh on grocery shelves, or to
create a solid fat product such as margarine, food manufacturers
hydrogenate – add hydrogen to – polyunsaturated oils.
Fortunately, since January 2006, the Food and Drug
Administration has required that food labels show the trans-fat
content, making it easier for us to avoid it.
Trans-fat
acids raise “bad” cholesterol levels and lower “good”
cholesterol levels, which raises the risk of heart disease.
Food sources:
cookies, crackers, French fries, donuts and commercially fried
foods.
TRIMMING THE
FAT
To
avoid the unhealthy fats, you should:
·
Severally restrict
intake of packaged baked goods like cookies and pastries.
·
Eliminate
commercially fried foods (like French fries) as much as possible
·
Reduce the amount of
animal products you eat
·
Use 1% or skim milk
instead of whole milk
To
get more healthy fats into your diet:
·
Eat more fish, such
as salmon and tuna
·
Use olive oil for
cooking
·
Try a handful of
nuts in place of a sweet snack.
Remember,
too much fat of any kind can be unhealthy. Realize, too, that
just because a product is labeled “low fat” does not mean it is
low in trans-fat. It is always better to go with unprocessed
food, and shop for fresh produce instead.
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