When making food choices, are you likely to be influenced by fat content? Do you ever opt for “fat-free” or “reduced fat” because it seems healthier? If so, it may be time to THINK AGAIN!
In the late 1980s, saturated fat was identified as an important ingredient to reduce for improved overall health. Instead of distinguishing between different kinds of fats though, all fats were clumped together, and everyone got scared of fats. Fat-free was perceived to be the healthier option so food companies began to produce reduced fat/fat-free everything by substituting vegetable fats for animal fats, and, more importantly, sugars for fats …even in cookies:
How can a Devil’s Food COOKIE CAKE possibly be FAT FREE?!?! The first ingredient is SUGAR, which means the bulk of this cookie is sugar.
Monitoring fat intake is important (especially if weight-loss is an ultimate goal), but the ingredient label is key for determining what kind of fats you are eating. This is important because not all fats are villains! Some fats are healthy and necessary in a balanced diet.
 |
 |
| saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature like a stick of butter | mono- and poly-unsaturated fats tend to be liquit at room temperature like olive oil |
Which are the good and bad fats? There are four major types of dietary fats:
- Saturated fats: Bad – raises bad cholesterol (LDL) and can cause heart disease. Note: Butters and meat fats from grass-fed animals are much richer in the good omega-3 fatty acids. Plant-based saturated fats are better, too.
- Trans fats: Worst – raises bad cholesterol (LDL), decreases good cholesterol (HDL) and can cause heart disease.
- Monounsaturated fats: Good – can lower bad cholesterol and will not clog arteries.
- Polyunsaturated fats: Good – can lower bad cholesterol and will not clog arteries.
Our bodies need the good fats for healthy heart function energy, brain function, cell repair and building, regulation of the hormonal system and insulation
How can you detect bad fats in your foods? Read the ingredient label.
Did you play last week’s little trivia game? If you missed it, go back and play! One of the ingredients in the innocent-seeming sweet treats (aka Kellogg’s® Pop-Tarts®) is PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL.
This ingredient indicates that the food has trans fat, the unhealthy fat. Yep, bad fats can be found via the ingredient label.
So, find the bad fats by reading the ingredient labels and don’t fear all fats!
Thanks for the common sense approach to shopping for healthy foods! “Fat free” is not always the healthiest way to go!
So, do you still count fat grams? So confusing.
Pingback: Weight Loss Tips: What Fat Is Good? | Fast and Quick Weight Loss Tips - Weight Loss Diets, Programs, Pills and Solution
Pingback: Current Events | Stop Your Belly From Growing
Pingback: Tweets that mention Tomato Talk » Blog Archive » Are You Scared of Fats? Find out Why You Shouldn’t Be! -- Topsy.com
Pingback: Tomato Talk » Blog Archive » Honoring Mom This Mother’s Day
Pingback: How To Abs Fast | Get Flat Abs Fast – How To Lose Tummy Fat by Avoiding The Worst Foods That Make It Bigger
Pingback: Tomato Talk » Blog Archive » 10 Foods That Contain Good Fats (Part 3)
Not all saturated fats are bad. Medium chain fatty acids like coconut oil are very healthy.
The following is from the site:http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article10612.htm
All fats and oils are composed of fat molecules called fatty acids. There are two methods of classifying fatty acids. The one you are most familiar is based on saturation. You have saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The second method of classification is based on molecular size or length of the carbon chain in the fatty acid. You have short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium-chain fatty acids(MCFA), and long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Another term you will often see in reference to fatty acids is triglyceride. Three fatty acids joined together make a triglyceride, so you may have short-chain triglycerides (SCT), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), or long-chain triglycerides (LCT).
The vast majority of the fats and oils you eat, whether they are saturated or unsaturated or come from an animal or a plant, are composed of long-chain triglycerides. Probably 98 to 100% of all the fats we eat consist of LCT. Coconut oil is unique because it is composed predominately of MCT. The size of the fatty acid is extremely important because physiological effects of medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are distinctly different from the long-chain fatty acids more commonly found in our diet. It’s the MCT in coconut oil that make it different from all other fats and for the most part gives it its unique character and healing properties. Almost all of the medium-chain triglycerides used in research, medicine, and food products come from coconut oil.
What a great resource!