What makes fats good or bad? Since they are all fats, so what should make some good and the others bad? Nutritionists will always tell us to steer clear of some fats, which is why the good fats vs. bad fats debate continue to rage.
Fat is an excellent source of energy for your body and is critical in some bodily functions. However, it is common to hear fats labeled as unhealthy and exclude them from our diets.
While some fats may have roles in cardiovascular diseases and obesity, not all fats will be bad for you. That is why it would not be advisable to cut fats out of your diet entirely.
Read on as we dissect all about the good and the bad fats.
What Are the Different Types of Fats?
There are two types of fat that health experts and nutritionists deem to be harmful to one’s health. These are trans fats and saturated fats. You will find these fats in most foods that are usually solid under normal conditions.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats can be found in several foods. Such foods include margarine, butter, pork, or beef. It would help if you did all you can to stay away from trans-fats while eating saturated fats every once in a while, but not regularly.
The primary sources of saturated fats are animals. Animal fats might be found in meals such as dairy milk, fatty cuts of pork or beef, poultry, and chicken meat.
Overeating these saturated fats will lead to an increase in cholesterol levels in your blood. While cholesterol is essential for healthy cells, too much of it will increase the risk of heart disease.
However, of late medical researchers have started terming saturated fats the more beneficial fat type. That is because they occur naturally in animals and plants as opposed to the processed vegetable fats.
That, however, does not mean you should consume them in excess amounts.
Trans Fatty Acids (Trans fats)
You will find these fats mostly in foods you prepare with hydrogenated seed or vegetable oils. It is not advisable to consume them since they are the worst type of fat anyone can eat regularly.
You might find these types of fats in deep-fried foods such as fries, margarine, vegetable shortening, processed snack foods, and baked foods such as cookies.
Like their counterparts, these fats will also increase cholesterol levels, exposing you to the risk of heart disease. They also can suppress the effect of good cholesterol.
According to doctors, trans fats might also lead to increased inflammation in the body. The inflammation might be responsible for diabetes, heart disease, and increasing the risks of strokes or heart attacks.
While some margarine kinds will claim to have saturated fats, most of them will have trans fats. That is why it is a good idea to use only those that are non-hydrogenated.
That will mean having to read the labels on the margarine carefully before buying. However, that would not be sufficient since shady manufacturers will label their foods free of trans fats.
That is the reason you need to look at the ingredients they used to make the product. The components will be a more precise pointer to what constitutes the margarine you are buying.
Good fats
There are two types of fats known to be good for a person’s health. Such fats will usually be liquid at room temperature. They have lesser carbon chains than saturated fats, making them liquid.
Monounsaturated Fats
The most popular source of monounsaturated fats is arguably olive oil. It has fewer carbon bonds than saturated fats and is thus liquid at all times unless processed.
The primary sources of such fats are avocados, nuts, canola oil, peanut oil, and nuts. They are the best type of fats for you. You should thus consume them whenever possible and avoid the hydrogenated versions of fats.
Polyunsaturated Fats
The most obvious examples of this type of fat are sunflower oil, corn oil, and safflower oil. Polyunsaturated fats are a type of oil known as essential oils. They are critical in running crucial body functions, which is why you should consume them as much as possible.
Omega-3, together with omega-6 fatty acids, are some of the primary types of polyunsaturated fats. Both types will offer you far healthier benefits than their saturated counterparts.
You can find these fatty acids in fish, such as salmon, canola oil, wax seeds, or walnuts. Besides lowering the amount of bad cholesterol, these fatty acids will also help prevent heart diseases.
Replacing processed and saturated fats with this type of fat will see you lower the amount of harmful cholesterol in your body. It will also help reduce the amounts of triglycerides in your body.
They also play a significant role in the reduction of high blood pressure. They are also lauded for significant other medical benefits such as reducing the risk of dementia and reducing the need for corticosteroid medication for rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Can Healthy Fats Make You Fat?
While most people will link weight gain to fats consumption, studies show that it is not always likely if the fats are healthy. Consuming healthy fats such as those we have discussed above will actually help you lose weight.
Medium-chain fats help you suppress your appetite thus reducing your caloric intake, which in the long run will help you lose weight. They also help you absorb soluble vitamins faster, which shows you that you do not have to avoid fats entirely.
Final Thoughts
While most people will throw a blanket condemnation on all types of fats, the good vs. bad fats debate shows that should not be the case. Several types of fat are of great benefit and should be part of any healthy diet.
If you believed that all fats are bad for you, you deny your body several health benefits that come with healthy fats. Fats are not all bad, however are essential to the functioning of your body.
Be rest assured to consume those fats just as long as they are not saturated.
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