Quick question are fats in our food bad for us ?
Do you spend your time
looking at food labels working out which foods have no fat or considerable low
amounts of fat?
Do you know the
differences between the fats? Are all
fats the same?
Lets face it any one
that is health conscience will have to
address the issue of Fats in their diet. Do you fall prey to the slogan 80% fat
free? (meaning there is 20% fat). The purpose of this article is to shed some
light on fat.
To start with there are good and bad fats. Yes, not
all fats are bad. Lets start with the bad guys.
Bad fats
One classification of
fats is saturated fats . They
are solid at room temperature and come mainly from animal sources ( Beef
fat, Butter fat ) and tropical oils(palm oil, coconut oil, palm kernal oil).
Saturated fats in general are found in processed foods. A high intake of
saturated fats has been linked to heart disease.
Trans- fatty acids(trans fats) are another source of bad fat.
These fats come from plant sources. (nuts,vegetable and seed sources) these
fats have had hydrogen added to them (hydrogenation) they are also known as hyrogenated fats.
Margarines are a common source of these fats . These fats are considered
dangerous and are worse than saturated fats . These fats should be avoided at
all costs they are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Processed
foods can have trans fats added, read food labels carefully.
Good Fats
There are two categories of good fats,
Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats they
are normally liquid at room temperature and come from nut,vegetable and seed
sources examples include olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, and other nut oils.
These fats help to lower the bad cholesterol in the blood.
Polyunsaturated fats these are essential fatty acids. They are
commonly refered to as omega 6 and omega
3 . These fats keep your skin smooth, lubricate
and protect your joints,maintenance of cell membranes, healthy arteries
and nerves.They also assist in the breakdown and metabolism of cholesterol.
They also boost the immune system.
Common source of omega
6 fats are from seeds and their oils.( hemp, walnut oils, pumpkin, sunflower, saflower, corn, soya bean,
wheat germ oil. )
Common sources of omega
3 fats are fish oils. Wild salmon, mackeral, cod, halibut, shell fish rainbow trout, sardines, herring, and tuna.
What quantities should we take in
In order to derive the
benefits of fats it is essential that we stick to these limitations:
We should not consume
more than 30% of our total food calories from fat.
We should limit
saturated fat to no more than 10%
The remaining 20% of
fat should come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, in about equal
measures.
Reading and
understanding food labels are important to ensure you do not consume too much
fat.
Why is fat intake important
For the reasons given
above it is essential to have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in our
diets.
Also certain vitamins can only be absorbed by
the body in the presence of fat (fat soluble) these are the vitamins A D E and K.
So it follows if one
eliminates fat from the diet a vitamin deficiency will occur.
Research has emerged
that increasing omega 3 results in enhancing the fat burning process. If the proportion
of omega 6 to omega 3 is not right, the brain releases hormones and
neurotransmitters that tell it to hold on to fat and not burn it. (this could
be the reason why alot of overweight people do not lose weight when they
exercise)
Questions
for you to reflect on .
1.
Are you
better off having butter or margarine on
you toast? (assuming that they both had the same amount of fat content)
2.
Would your
answer be different if the margarine had less fat content?
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