| y"> | | | | consume them at all. The reason for most of the bad |
| Have you seen those "fat free" foods in | | | | rap that saturated fat has been given is due to the |
| supermarkets? Have you possibly delighted in them | | | | fact that the liver uses it to produce cholesterol. It |
| guiltlessly thinking that they are healthy for you? | | | | has been noted to raise the good (HDL) cholesterol |
| There's a good chance that you have because we | | | | as well as the bad (LDL) cholesterol. The FDA's |
| usually follow what the media and the world around | | | | general guideline for saturated fat is to limit it to |
| us says. In this day in age, along with other health | | | | about 10% of total calories per day. This would |
| fads, many people believe that fat makes you fat. | | | | convert to about 20 grams per day for diet |
| This is true, to an extent. What we fail to notice is | | | | containing about 2,000 calories per day. |
| that not all fats are bad. | | | | Saturated fat is mostly found in foods that are |
| If I had to guess, since the words fat (as in what's in | | | | derived from animals. The exception would be |
| food) and fat (as in excess body tissue, or adipose | | | | coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils, which also contain |
| tissue) are the same word it makes sense that when | | | | saturated fat. |
| you eat fat, you get fat. However, this is not the | | | | The Healthy Fats |
| case. Now don't get me wrong, there is a difference | | | | -Monounsaturated Fats |
| between good fats and bad fats. If you eat the bad | | | | Monounsaturated fat is believed to help lower the |
| fats they can make you fat, and also contribute to | | | | bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good (HDL) |
| several diseases. Your body uses the good fats in | | | | cholesterol. As listed in the beginning of this article, |
| several ways to repair itself, grow, and work more | | | | they also provide many healthy benefits. |
| efficiently. | | | | Monounsaturated fats are mostly found in vegetable |
| Some of the benefits of eating these healthy fats | | | | oils. Some examples would include olive oil and canola |
| include: | | | | oil. |
| -Healthy fats are essential for absorption of | | | | -Polyunsaturated Fats |
| fat-soluble vitamins | | | | Polyunsaturated fats contain the family of fats |
| -Healthy fats have an anti-inflammatory effect - they | | | | known as Essential Fatty Acids, or EFAs. As you can |
| can help relieve many of the pains that we | | | | tell by their name, these fats are essential to the |
| experience around our joints | | | | body because the body cannot produce them on its |
| -Healthy fats are essential for lubrication of our joints | | | | own. The main EFAs are the Omega-3 fatty acid and |
| -Healthy fats improve insulin sensitivity. Insulin is the | | | | the Omega-6 fatty acid. They provide many of the |
| hormone our bodies use to transport nutrients | | | | benefits listed at the beginning of this article as well. |
| throughout the body. Insulin sensitivity is essentially a | | | | Good sources of these fatty acids are fish, mustard |
| measure of how efficient our bodies use insulin. Insulin | | | | seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnut oil, leafy green |
| resistance is the opposite of insulin sensitivity and is | | | | vegetables, sunflower, soybean, avocados, and |
| one of the early stages of diabetes. | | | | perhaps one of the best sources is flax seed (make |
| -Healthy fats can increase the strength of our | | | | sure to grind them or buy them in an oil form - the |
| immune system | | | | stomach has trouble digesting the whole seeds). |
| -Healthy fats play a major role in the production of | | | | -Why Fat Supposedly Makes You Fat |
| energy from foods we consume | | | | (Note: You can calculate your TDEE at |
| -Healthy fats are required for our body to efficiently | | | | There is a simple law known as the Law of |
| use oxygen | | | | Thermodynamics. In addition to this, our bodies burn |
| -Healthy fats can improve skin texture | | | | a certain number of calories per day (this number |
| -Healthy fats can increase your metabolism | | | | changes everyday and is influenced by many |
| -Healthy fats can help you burn more fat (the kind | | | | factors). This burning of calories everyday is known |
| that is attached to your body) | | | | as total daily energy expenditure or TDEE. If the |
| Dr. Udo Erasmus, author of one of the most popular | | | | amount of calories we eat in a certain day is below |
| books ever about fat, "Fats the Heal, Fats that Kill", | | | | our TDEE, we lose weight (this weight is not |
| writes in his book, "At levels above 12 to 15% of | | | | necessarily fat all the time). If the amount of calories |
| total calories, healthy fats increase the rate of | | | | we eat is equal to our TDEE, our weight stays the |
| metabolic reactions in the body and the increased | | | | same. If the amount of calories we eat is greater |
| rate burns off more fat into carbon dioxide, water, | | | | than our TDEE, we gain weight (as stated before, |
| and energy (heat), resulting in fat burn off and loss | | | | this weight is not necessarily fat all the time - it could |
| of excess weight." | | | | be muscle). Many people skip this important |
| In this article we will discuss what exactly these | | | | fundamental and look at the type of food they are |
| healthy fats are, where to get them from, easy | | | | eating or several other factors before they |
| ways to add them into your diet, and the optimal | | | | investigate how many calories they are eating per |
| amount of fat that you should consume. I will also | | | | day and how to adjust their amount of calories |
| explain why the belief that "fats make you fat" has | | | | consumed to achieve their goals. |
| developed because fats can make you fat if you eat | | | | Fat holds 9 calories per gram, while carbohydrates |
| too many of them. | | | | and protein hold only 4 calories per gram. This means |
| The Bad Fats | | | | that eating fat (any type of fat, even the good kind) |
| -Trans Fats | | | | will result in a greater number of calories consumed. |
| Trans fats are made by bubbling hydrogen through | | | | Therefore, it's more likely that you're going to go |
| unsaturated fats in order to make them solid and | | | | over your TDEE and gain weight, especially if much |
| have a longer shelf life. In addition, it was once | | | | of your diet comes from fattening foods. In addition |
| thought that trans fats were a healthier alternative | | | | to this, fat is very similar chemically to the fat that |
| to saturated fats. However, this is far from the truth. | | | | your body stores. This makes it easy for your body |
| In a statement made by the Bush Administration | | | | to store consumed fat as fat (adipose tissue), but |
| they warn us to keep consumption of trans fats "as | | | | you must take into consideration that storing fat |
| low as possible" and also state that "the food | | | | (consumed) as fat (adipose tissue) is not the only |
| industry has an important role in decreasing trans | | | | thing your body does with fat (consumed). |
| fatty acid content of the food supply." | | | | -The Optimal Levels of Fat |
| Some of the top Harvard nutritionists state that | | | | You're going to want to eat part of your calories |
| replacing trans fats with a safer alternative would | | | | from fat to get their many benefits, but not go too |
| "prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary | | | | high. Like anything else in the world of nutrition and |
| deaths per year." | | | | fitness, there are many opinions on what the optimal |
| In fact, Denmark has already taken an initiative and | | | | levels of fat in the diet are. For instance, advocates |
| banned the sale of trans fats to not allow more than | | | | of low-fat diets opt for absolutely no fat and believe |
| 2% of the food to contain trans fats. | | | | that fat is what makes us fat. However, there is a |
| Now that you know that trans fats are bad, how do | | | | flaw in this belief as they are also cutting out the |
| you avoid them? In America, the FDA has required | | | | good, numerously beneficial fats. Then there are high |
| food manufacturers to list the number of trans fats | | | | fat diets, such as diets suggesting low carbs (they |
| a food contains. This has helped consumers make | | | | usually say you can eat all the fat and protein you |
| wiser choices, but according to FDA regulation, "if the | | | | want). Although, it is generally accepted to consume |
| serving contains less than 0.5 gram, the content, | | | | between 15% - 25% of your calories from fat while |
| when declared, shall be expressed as zero." This rule | | | | severely limiting the amount of trans fats and |
| allows food manufacturers to list very small serving | | | | watching the amount of saturated fat that you |
| sizes and as long as the amount of trans fats is less | | | | consume. |
| than 0.5 grams in that particular serving, they are | | | | -Some Easy Ways to Add Fat Into Your Diet |
| allowed to list it as 0 grams of trans fats. | | | | Now you may be wondering how you're going to add |
| The ultimate way to tell if a food contains trans fats | | | | some of these healthy fats into your diet. There are |
| or not is if the ingredients list contains the phrase | | | | actually some really easy ways to do so. If you eat |
| "partially hydrogenated" or "shortening". Trans fats | | | | salads, you can add about a tablespoon of olive or |
| are mostly contained in foods such as candies, | | | | canola oil. In my experience, you usually cannot even |
| cookies, snack foods, chips, shortenings, and many | | | | taste these added oils. If you buy some flax seed |
| restaurants. | | | | and grind it, you can add it to almost any food. Once |
| -Saturated Fats | | | | again, these flax seeds are mostly tasteless. Really, |
| Saturated fats are widely recognized as being bad | | | | adding these healthy nutrients into your diet isn't that |
| fats. You probably know or believe this to be true, | | | | big of a burden. |
| and it is to an extent. There is actually quite a | | | | Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes |
| controversy between many dieticians and nutritionists | | | | only and is not intended to replace medical advice |
| about saturated fats concerning the optimal amount | | | | from a physician or your health care provider. |
| that we should consume or if we should even | | | | |