What You Need To Know About Fats

It is necessary to have a small amount of fat in your diet. Completely eliminating fat from your diet will prevent the body from making use of fat soluble vitamins; vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat in your body also helps to protect your organs from injury, regulate your body temperature and has an important role in growth and development.

Forms of Fat

Fats are not created equally. Oils like olive, canola, cottonseed corn and other vegetable oils that are liquid at room temperature have a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids. This why they are known as unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are classified as monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Olive oil has high levels of monounsaturated fats and is called a good fat; one of the best for cooking and making salad dressings. Diets that contain high levels of olive oil have been associated with lower rates of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke. Deep water fish such as salmon contain high levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and are also believed to be associated with lower risk of heart disease.

Unsaturated fat-Chemical term that indicates a fat molecule has fewer hydrogen atoms than can be held on its carbon skeleton. These fats are generally liquid at room temperature. Saturated fat-Chemical term that indicates a fat molecule contains as many hydrogen atoms as can be held on its carbon skeleton.  These fats are typically solid at room temperature.

Saturated fats contain high levels of saturated fatty acids. Lard and butter are two examples of saturated fats. Saturated fats are typically in a solid form at room temperature.  Saturated fats have been determined to be dangerous to your health.   Due to a demand for less saturated fat in the food supply, manufacturers have started using partially hydrogenated oils.  The process by which partially hydrogenated oils are created also creates fatty acids known as trans fats.  These trans fats are found in many foods as hydrogenated oils have become popular with food manufacturers as it has a longer shelf life as well as lower saturated fat levels. Despite the fact that  trans fats are unsaturated, they raise cholesterol levels as significantly as saturated fats. Epidemiological studies have found that trans fats are twice as damaging as saturated fats.  For more information on trans fats read  Ask Dr Sears.

To lower both saturated fats and trans fats, choose olive or canola oils, corn oil or safflower oil.  Naturally, these oils contain zero trans fats and are low in saturated fats. Additionally, you should search for reduced fat, low fat, fat free and trans fat free baked goods and snacks.


How Much Fat Is Okay

Current dietary guidelines tell us to limit our fat intake to thirty percent or less of our total caloric intake. These guidelines also suggest that we limit saturated fat intake to less than ten percent of our total caloric intake. Health experts such as Dean Ornish, M.D. advocate lowering dietary fat to ten percent of daily caloric intake. Dr. Ornish proved that a combination of an ultra-low fat diet, exercise and psychological change (way of thinking, particularly about food) could reduce atherosclerotic plaque. Nevertheless, this reversal may be more a result of maintaining an exercise program and behavioral change rather than eating more low fat foods.

There are many pitfalls that can ruin your efforts to reduce body fat. However, when you think about what you eat and how much you exercise, it becomes easier to avoid them. Knowing about the different forms of fat will aid you in this. You can do it. Good health to you!