The Facts About Fats In Your Diet

Do you have as much difficulty as I do in keeping various information about ‘fats’ straight, like which is good and which is bad?  Here’s some information to help clarify things a little. Fats in your diet are absolutely necessary, but the type and amount of fat you get is important. USDA says you should be getting about 30% of your daily calories from fats.  So for a 2000 calorie a day diet you should get around 60 grams of total fat, less than 16 grams saturated fat, less than 2 grams trans-fat, and a total cholesterol intake less than 300 mg.

Four Types of Fat in Diet

• Monounsaturated Fat
• Polyunsaturated Fat
• Saturated Fat
• Trans Fat

Monounsaturated Fat

• The ‘best’ one to have.  (The difference in mono and poly unsaturated fats has to do with their chemical formation. Basically, poly has more double bonds; don’t worry about it, it’s a chemistry thing).
• Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases good cholesterol (HDL)
• Found in fish,  nuts, seeds, avocados, vegetable oils

Polyunsaturated Fat

• Lowers LDL but also lowers HDL
• Helps control heart function and blood clotting
• Generally found in non meat sources, liquid vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, fish, eggs

Saturated Fat

• Not one of the better ones , should limit intake to <7% of calories
• Raises bad cholesterol (LDL), good cholesterol (HDL), and total cholesterol
• Main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol
• Found in food from animals, meats, butter fat, also in coconut oil and cocoa butter

Trans-Fat

• This the BAD one, avoid entirely if possible but no more than 2 grams a day
• Made from hydrogenation process.
• Partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils raise blood cholesterol
• Raises LDL, and lowers HDL
• Increases inflammation, increase risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Found in fast foods, foods with shortening, crackers, candies, cookies, fried foods, processed foods with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
• Used by the food industry to increase shelf life of products and to enhance flavors

Food Labelling “Rules” You May Not Be Aware Of

• FDA allows foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat to be labeled as zero grams of trans-fat.  In other words ‘zero’ does not necessarily mean you’re getting none.  This can add up by the end of the day.
• According the the American Heart Association there are NO labeling regulations for fast food outlets.  This means they can advertise ‘no cholesterol’ while they actually use trans-fats in their cooking oils.
• One donut may contain 3.2 grams trans-fat and one large fast food order of fries may have 6.8 grams of trans-fat!  That’s nearly 10 grams of trans-fat before the day’s half over!

Quick Tip!

Concerned about eating too much fish?   Get the seven essential fatty acids found in fish by daily supplementing with Omega-Guard ™ by Shaklee. It contains ultra-pure pharmaceutical grade fish oil with low odor and no after taste made by triple molecular distillation.

Good Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!