Can you
count how many times you’ve heard “fat is bad for you”, “never eat fat”, “it’ll
give you a heart attack or stroke”. The list goes on and on. One thing many aren’t
aware of is fat has many categories. There are three main kinds of fat.
Saturated, unsaturated, and trans fat.
Fat that is BAD for you and will
give you no health benefit whatsoever is trans-fat. It is chemically made by
heating vegetable oil to extreme temperatures and adding hydrogen. This makes
the molecule very complex, which in turn make it difficult for your body to
break down. According to an article, “it takes your body 51 days to metabolize just half of a hydrogenated fat.”
Another fat, Saturated fat which is
any fat that comes from an animal-including it’s by products. Oddly enough
coconuts have saturated fat too. This fat isn’t BAD for you, but it isn’t the
best. It’s good to consume in moderation. Animal products have various levels
of saturated fat. For example, 1 cup of 2% milk contains 3 grams of saturated
fat; a beef steak has approximately 6 grams of saturated fat. From this
information, please don’t think it’s bad to eat saturated fats because it’s
not. Just don’t eat entire cow and a few gallons of milk at once. A goal the
American Diabetes Association has is to consume less than 7% of your daily
calories as saturated fat.
Lastly, there is unsaturated fat
which is broken up into other categories: polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. The
difference between these is polyunsaturated has several double bonds and
monounsaturated has only one double bond. Our body doesn’t make these fats so it’s
important for us to consume them through food. Theses fats are also broken into
further groups such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 for polyunsaturated and Omega-9 for
monounsaturated.
Omega-3 fats help control blood
clotting and building cell membranes in your brain. They also can prevent heart
disease and stroke. Foods that contain Omega 3s are: albacore tuna, mackerel,
halibut, herring, salmon, trout, flax seed, canola oil, soybean and walnut oil. This
lists only some of the food products that contain Omega-3s. Omega-6 fats can be
found in nuts, grains, oils, avocado, and other foods.
Omega-9
fats, also known as oleic acid, your body can make in only small amounts. So it’s
important to consume some. Pecans, almonds, avocados, and mainly all nuts
contain Omega-9.
Eating fat is very important. Only
GOOD fat though! Your body needs fat to function properly. It also helps
against several diseases. Also, believe it or not, unsaturated fat will lower
your cholesterol!
So to conclude, here is a list of
symptoms of Omega-9 deficiency I found very interesting.
-Eczema
-Dandruff
-Cracking/peeling
fingertips
-Hair loss
-Dry glands
-Dry skin
and eyes
-Stiff or
painful joints
-Craving of
fatty food
Think you
might be in need some Omega-9?
Information from: American Diabetes Association: What can I eat? and Harvard School of Public Health
