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.