Shepherd Of My Soul

Bad Fats: Which Fats Are the Unhealthy Fats?
 

Now that we have identified the good fats, it is even more important to know which are the bad fats. Saturated fats are one of the main culprits with trans fats running a close second. Saturated fat has been medically related to increasing the levels of cholesterol in the blood. This is why heart patients are always placed on a low cholesterol diet.
 

• Saturated fats The problem with saturated fats is that they are found in some of the foods we love best. Meats and dairy products are the main culprits. Concentrate too many of the saturated fats in your diet and triglycerides and other heart threatening blood fats over time can be a real health risk. The accumulation of saturated fats in the heart will decrease the volume of blood that flows through the heart muscle and its attendant arteries. When someone has a heart attack, avoiding saturated fats is the first single line of defense against future heart attack episodes.
  
   
• Trans fats What is it that makes trans fats such a pejorative? A trans fat is made through a manufacturing procedure known as hydrogenation. Hydrogenation changes the fat from a liquid to a solid, but more importantly acts a preserving process so that the oil cab be stored at room temperature. The most famous trans fat is Crisco, the brand name for a form of shortening that really tastes good, but the trans fats inside shortening and lard (made from pig fat) is not only a serious cardiac threat, but also known to be cancer causing. The carcinogeous nature of trans fats along with weight gain and heart threat have forced the food industry to label precisely how much trans fat and saturated fat is in each portion of any manufactured meal.
  
   
• Tropical oils (palm and cocoa butter) If you canÕt live without the taste of these saturated and trans fats, foods with palm or cocoa butter is a lesser evil. These oils are also high in saturated fats, but they may be safer than the other unhealthy fats, since they have not been proven harmful to the heart.
   

Fat Myths: What You Need to Know About Dietary Fat
 

Fat is crucial for our health. Our bodies cannot live without fat. Essential fatty acids are just that -- essential. Dietary fats provide your body with energy, contribute to our cell growth, help the body absorb certain nutrients and promote hormone production. A certain amount of body fat is necessary to keep your body warm and to protect your body's organs. A no-fat diet or extremely low-fat diet is a prescription for health issues.

Here some interesting facts about fat:
 

• Not all fats are similar. There are four categories of dietary fat: trans fats, saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats. These fat types are differentiated by their chemical and molecular make-up, which affects how they are used and processed in the body. The bad fats are the saturated fats and trans fats. They are distinctly solid at room temperature (such as beef fat, bacon fat, lard and butter). The good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are comparatively liquid at room temperature (these include vegetable oils). Learn more about good fats and bad fats.
  
   
• Fats are packed with calories. Per gram, fat has 9 calories (this is true of any fat, regardless of its type). By contrast, protein and carbohydrates contain about 4 calories per gram. This points to the fact that high fat consumption increases the overall calories in our diet. For this reason alone, it is imperative to limit fat intake if your are attempting to lose weight.
  
   
• Some fats actually lower chloresterol. The bad fats are bad mostly because they lift LDL chloresterol levels (also known as bad chloresterol). Good fats, the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, raise the HDL (known as good) cholesterol levels, which helps lower LDL chloresterol.
  
   
• Some fats promote weight loss. The monounsaturated fat found in walnuts, almonds, avocado, olive oil and canola oil have been found to encourage weight loss, especially body fat itself. Keep this in mind, you don't want to eat too many, but be sure to include small amounts of these nuts and oils in your regular diet if you are trying to lose weight.
  
   
• Fat supplies our body with energy. Polyunsaturated fats (found in salmon and oily fish, corn oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil) have a detoxifying effect on our cells, carrying away toxic fats deposited there that clog up cell activity.
  
   
• Fat lubricates the body. Good fats are like oil in a car engine, providing needed lubrication to our joints, digestive system (flax seed is excellent for constipation) and skin. Some of our dermatological problems are caused by deficiencies of good fats in our diet.