Good Fats
So now that we know that fat is essential (thus the term EFA), which ones should we include in our diets? Experts agree mono and polyunsaturated fats (fats which occur naturally), such as those found in fish (salmon is a good choice), avocados, olive oil, canola oil, seeds (I love flax seeds!), nuts, as well as corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils are the best choices.
These 'good fats' are naturally-occurring and have not been damaged by high heat, refining, processing or other man-made tampering such as 'partial hydrogenation' (aka transfat).
Evil Fats
What Are Saturated Fats?
Saturated fats are those which are solid at room temperature, such as butter or shortening.
Saturated fats raise LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) as well as total blood cholesterol. Saturated fats are typically found in animal products, including red meat, eggs, seafood and dairy.
What Are Trans Fats?
Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil - a process called hydrogenation - which increases the shelf life of foods containing these fats. Trans fats are found in many commercially packaged and fried food such as french fries and other packaged snacks, as well as vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine.
In general, if a food contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening or hydrogenated vegetable oil, it contains trans fat - so read your labels carefully.
Also, as of January 1st, 2006 trans fat will now be included on nutrition labels. Here's more information on that: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html and more on trans fat: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html#s3q6
Total fat intake should range between 20-35% of the calories consumed, or approximately 65-80 grams per day, according to the USDA Dietary Guidelines.
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