Bad Fats and Good Fats

Saturated Fats

Studies show that the typical American diet consists of 70% carbohydrates and 30% saturated fats. Heart doctors recommend that saturated fats make up no more than 10% of calories of the daily diet.

Saturated fats are found in animal meats and dairy products (whole milk, cheese, ice cream, butter) and in vegetable products. They are fats that are solid at room temperature.

Nuts and other vegetable products contain saturated fats, but as described below they are not as harmful as fats from animal sources. Part of the reason for this is that animal fats also contain cholesterol.

Good Fats

Good fats are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats and are found in vegetable oils such as olive, canola, in peanuts, and in nuts. These fats are not harmful to the heart (in moderate quantities).

Trans Fats

Trans fats can be found in nature, but the ones that we are concerned with are manmade and end up in off-the-shelf cookies, cupcakes, donuts, and in deep-fat frying like French fries and onion rings. Originally margarine was a good example of a trans fat, but today margarine might not have so much since trans fats are now frowned upon.

These fats have negative effects on blood LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels. They are manufactured by heating a vegetable oil in the presence of hydrogen (hydrogenation) creating a fat that is solid at room temperature. On the Nutrition Facts label trans fats are listed as Trans Fats or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

Trans fats along with saturated fats are termed bad fats by some researchers.

Eating of Fats

The eating of bad fats should be limited to less than 10% of the daily calories. This is 200 calories for a 2,000 calorie a day diet. A gram of fat has 9 calories so this represents about 23 grams of bad fats - this is less than one ounce (28g per ounce).

Where ever possible substitute good fats for the bad ones. For example instead of eating a snack of potato chips, a donut, a sticky bun, etc, eat a handful of almonds - your heart will appreciate it and your cholesterol and waistline will drop to reflect this change in eating habits.

A Prime Example of Eating Bad Fats

Probably the biggest problem with diets today is the switch to fast food. Fast food is loaded with bad fats and unneeded carbohydrates. In the recent (2004) documentary 'Super Size Me', the author ate only fast food for a month. He gained twenty-five pounds, his cholesterol went up 60 points, and in the end he felt horrible

Three weeks out, his doctors advised him to stop eating only fast food because they were afraid for his long-term health. Many times after he ate, he had hunger cravings even though he realized he could not possibly be hungry. He developed a pot belly of visceral fat - the worse kind.

In short, he went from a healthy young man to an obese man in dangerously poor health - in just a month! So much for fast food, sugars, soda pop, and sodium.

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