Fat IS good for you!

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