Good or Bad, The Facts of Fats!
When the discussion about fats takes place, all fats are often blamed as bad. No doubt, having some fats can cause obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. However, there are also good fats that can power-up your health in the same way as proteins, vitamins and other nutrients do.
Let’s learn which fats to have and which fats not to have in order to improve your health and not increase the risk of some diseases such as mentioned above.
The Baddy
Trans fat
Trans fatty acid or trans-fat is a type of unsaturated fat that is found naturally in meat and dairy products and artificially in hydrogenated vegetable oils. While the natural trans-fat isn’t considered harmful, the artificial one is dangerous.
What does it do?
Having this type of fat can increase your bad cholesterol levels and can also hamper the level of good one, significantly raising the risk of heart disease. It also contributes to inflammation and insulin resistance which can lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, stroke and other chronic health condition.
Where is it found?
Unfortunately, the food we love and adore the most comes packed with trans-fat – commercially baked pastries, cookies, chips, pizza, fried foods and any food containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
The Grey Character
Saturated fat
Saturated fat has long been associated with increasing the risk of heart disease. However, it is worth noting that saturated fat raises both HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood. But in no way, has it been clinically associated with increasing the risk of heart diseases!
Where is it found?
Primary sources of saturated fat are chicken skin, whole-fat dairy products such as milk, cream & cheese. It is also found in ghee, butter, ice cream, coconut and palm oil.
The Heroes
Monosaturated fat
Different studies have proved overtime that having monosaturated fat in moderation lowers your blood cholesterol level and decreases the risk of heart disease.
Where is it found?
You can find this healthy fat in a variety of food and oils such as almonds, peanuts or cashews, vegetable oils like olive or peanut oil and almond butter or peanut butter.
Polyunsaturated fat
Polyunsaturated fat helps you in decreasing cholesterol levels, lowering the risk of heart problems and managing blood pressure.
Where is it found?
You can incorporate sunflower, sesame, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds in your diet to have polyunsaturated fat. Having walnuts, soymilk, soybean oil, fish oil and fatty fish like salmon, trout and sardines can also provide you polyunsaturated fat.
Was this article good enough to bust the myths regarding dietary fats? As a matter of ‘fat’…. not all fats are bad! So just be health smart, have the good fats & avoid the bad ones to keep diseases at bay.
