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{{label}}06 February 2017
Without Googling, can you identify which food has fat in them?
Conventional wisdom has made it such that fat has earned a bad rep, as a diet of fatty food like processed meats and fast food are precursors to high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. Latest developments, however, are starting to evidence that the consumption of good types of fat can have positive effects. It can even contribute to lowering blood cholesterol and help decrease the risk of coronary diseases.
Let�s start with the good, the unsaturated fats a.k.a. The good fat. There are two types of unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, where the difference lies in each of their chemical compositions. Studies have shown that a diet rich in these good fats help to improve blood cholesterol levels, thus decreasing the risk of heart disease. Sounds surprising, but you will realise this makes sense once you find out the sources of unsaturated fat.
Unsaturated fat is mainly made from plant sources (vegetables) but can also be found in certain types of fish. The main source of good fat comes from vegetable oils, like canola oil and olive oil. In fact, olive oil is one of the primary sources of fat for people living in the Mediterranean (think Italy, Greece, Spain), and is seen as the reason for the low levels of heart diseases in those countries. Other plant-based foods you can get your good fat from are avocados, nuts and edible seeds like pumpkin seed and sunflower seed.
Saturated fat, a.k.a. Bad fat is the types of fat you should be keeping an eye out for. Saturated fat is mostly animal based. Think: fatty meat, milk, cheese, butter, lard and the like. The danger with bad fat is it provides taste to your food, making it delicious to eat and leaves you feeling satisfied afterwards.
Trans-fat is found in commercially made processed and fried foods such as fast food, where hydrogen is added as an additive to keep it solid at room temperature. The consumption of trans fat can increase bad cholesterol levels. It doesn�t help that most processed food is also laden with salt or sugar, besides trans-fat. Similar to consumption of saturated fat, trans fat also increases the risk of other illnesses such as diabetes and kidney failure. The recommendation is to limit the consumption of trans-fat foodstuff.
Fats � you can�t live with them, and you really cannot live without them. Its function of helping your body absorb the essential vitamins A, D, E and K cannot be replaced by any other food group, and it is important in the development of bodily functions. The key to managing your fat intake is really simple � consume bad fat in moderation, otherwise cut it out completely; and don�t be shy with good fats.
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