Nutrition-Fats

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By Brian Gokey, CFT, BSMET

What is Fat?

Fats get such a bad wrap in the world we live in today. Everyone thinks that fats are bad and we must avoid fat at all costs. Fat would not be in this discussion of the three main types of food if it were not needed in the human body. Fat has vital use in the body such as providing reserve energy, providing protection for vital organs, and insulation for the body from environmental temperature changes thereby preserving body heat. Fat is comprised of fatty acids, and we can use the terms fat and fatty acids interchangeably here.

Types of Fats / Fatty Acids

There are two main categories of fat: saturated andunsaturated. Saturated fats are primarily found in animal products such as whole milk, cream and cheese, beef, lamb, pork, and veal. Unsaturated fats are in oils from plant-derived sources such as corn, soybean, safflower, sunflower, olive, peanut, and canola. Saturated fat is usually a solid at room temperature and unsaturated fat is usually a liquid at room temperature. The optimal diet consists of about 16% fat preferably derived from unsaturated sources.

What does the liver have to do with Fat?

Our liver uses saturated fats to manufacture cholesterol, so an elevated intake of saturated fats can elevate blood cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, this means an increase in the level of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), or as we all love to name it the “bad cholesterol”. The other type of cholesterol is high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) or the “good cholesterol”. Many studies of fat intake recommend that the daily intake of saturated fats be below 10% of your daily caloric intake. As stated above, a good diet will have around 15-16% fat in it with most of the fat coming from the unsaturated type of fat.

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Types of Unsaturated Fats

Fats or fatty acids consist of two main types, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in the greatest amounts in corn, soybean, and sunflower oils. Certain fish oils are also high in polyunsaturates. Unlike the saturated fats, polyunsaturates may actually lower your total blood cholesterol level. While this is a good thing, large amounts of polyunsaturates also have a tendency to lower your high–density lipoproteins (HDLs) the “good” cholesterol. Monounsaturated fatty acids are found mostly in vegetable and nuts oils such as olive, peanut, and canola. These fatty acids appear to reduce blood levels of LDL’s without effecting HDLs in any way.

A few words on the Dreaded Trans-Fatty Acids

Trans-fatty acids or also called “trans-fats” are polyunsaturated oils that have been altered through a process called hydrogenation. This process hardens liquid vegetable oils into solid foods like margarine and shortening. These bad boys are not found in nature so you can already guess how our body will react to something that is not natural. Yes, our bodies do not know how to process them, so they get stored as, you guessed it – FAT. Trans fatty acids have the unique ability to lower the “good cholesterol” (HDLs) and increase your “bad cholesterol” (LDLs). These diet killers are found in thousands upon thousands of products on the supermarket shelves. There is a slow moving trend to remove these items from the products, but the food companies are reluctant to make the changes, because trans fats are “cheaper” than natural substitutes like butter and natural oils.

More Information on Fats

To find out more detailed information on Fats, look in the Fats section of www.wellness4everyone.com.

References

James and Phyllis Balch, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, (2007)