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Good and Bad Fats - Part One

by Linda Vaughon

For the last decade, a low fat-low cholesterol diet has been touted to be the best way to lose weight and prevent cancer and heart disease, but that's a dated philosophy now.

The total amount of fat in a diet is not linked to disease, but rather it is linked to the type of fat according to Harvard School of Public Health.

Harvard School is an organization dedicated to providing timely information on nutrition for clinicians, health professionals and the public according to the Web site http://www.hsph.harvard.edu
/nutritionsouce/ fats.html.

Harvard School informs that there are bad fats and good fats. Bad fats increase the risk of certain diseases while good fats lower the risk.

The bad fats include saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are found mainly in products heavy in animal fat such as dairy and red meat.

Trans-fats are found in margarine, shortening, potato chips, fast food and most baked goods.

The good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fat is found in olives, olive oil, canola oil, various nuts and avocados.

Polyunsaturated fat is in fish and in corn, soybean and cottonseed oils.

Bad fats are considered bad because they raise low-density lipoproteins (LDL), a bad cholesterol that clogs coronary arteries.

Good fats are deemed good because they raise high-density lipoproteins (HDL), which rid the body of unhealthy cholesterol.

Cholesterol in food is not considered a culprit any longer. Studies show that there's a flimsy link between the amount of cholesterol a person eats and their blood cholesterol. More so, it's the bad fats that worsen blood levels.

Saturated fats raise total blood cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol because they boost both good HDL and bad LDL cholesterol. The total outcome is negative making it wise to limit saturated fats.

Trans fatty acids are fats produced by heating liquid vegetable oils along with hydrogen known as hydrogenation. The more an oil is hydrogenated the harder it becomes. Spreadable tub margarine is less hydrogenated than stick margarine.

Trans fats are worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDL and lower good HDL. It's best to limit intake of saturated fats and omit trans fats altogether.

The good fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, decrease LDL levels and increase HDL levels.

The bottom line is that it's recommended that saturated fats are limited while trans fats are eliminated and replaced with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Be sure to pick up the next issue of the Nevada Senior Guide for Part II!