Edible Fats – The good, the bad and the ugly

 
Edible Fats – The good, the bad and the ugly
There’s so much that’s been said about good fat and bad fat, however, unless you’re a fitness freak or a healthy snacker, it just might not be easy for you to tell the difference between good edible fats and bad edible fats. Dietary fats play a vital role in human health. Not only are they carriers of fat-soluble vitamins, they also contain essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6, the lack of which could lead to serious vitamin deficiencies. But that’s just the good part. There is such a thing as bad fats and even the downright ugly fats. The ability to tell them apart might just be the difference between living a healthy live and clogging your arteries.
Edible fats come in four major categories – monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat and trans fat.
The good – Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats
Monounsaturated fats have one double bonded unsaturated carbon in the molecule. When taken in moderation, they are said to bring down cholesterol levels, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. But that’s not all – monounsaturated fats also contain the antioxidant Vitamin E among other nutrients essential to the healthy functioning of body cells.
Oils such as olive, sunflower, peanut, sesame and canola are rich sources of monounsaturated fats. Alternatively, you could also go for nuts, seeds and natural peanut butter.
Polyunsaturated fats
The thing about polyunsaturated fats is that they contain more than one double-bonded unsaturated carbon in the molecule. Like monounsaturated fats, they are also known to bring down cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. But they are probably best known for being rich sources of essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega -6 which the body cannot produce on its own. These fatty acids are vital to brain and body function.
Salmon, mackerel, herring, trout are some of the fish that are rich in these fats. Sunflower seeds, walnuts and vegetable oils such as safflower, soy bean and corn oil are other sources of polyunsaturated fats.
The bad – Saturated Fats
And now comes the bad part. Saturated fats are basically fats with carbon atoms saturated with hydrogen atoms. They have the opposite effect of good fats - raise cholesterol levels in the blood, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease and possibly leading to heart attacks and strokes.
Meat, dairy products, coconut oil and palm oil have loads of saturated fats and should be either completely avoided or eaten only rarely in order to ensure that cholesterol levels do not shoot up.
The ugly – Trans fats
And this is the downright ugly truth – Trans fats are not only extremely bad for you and could actually shorten your life greatly, they are in fact man made. Yes! Trans fats are made when hydrogen is forced into liquid vegetable oils to solidify them. Trans fats are used in fried foods and other commercial products that have preservatives to increase their shelf life. While these foods may be convenient, they are pretty much poisonous when it comes to the effect they have on the human body and must be avoided at all costs.
Donuts, fried foods such as French fries, hydrogenated margarine, hydrogenated shortening, pastries, biscuits, cookies and all the ‘good stuff’ are all sources of trans fats and don’t just settle on your hips, they could actually kill you.
So, now that you have the facts on edible fats, you might want to begin replacing the bad and the ugly with the good!