Fat Facts

There is this annoying rumor going around that fats are bad. Honestly, who ever told you this is probably going with a fad diet that they heard about. I have already expressed my concern with fad diets so check that out in my previous post. Here are the facts about fats. There are good ones and bad ones. Good fats help you store and release energy, they help your joints, your skin, your hair, and other epidermal layers. It is true that fats have the most amount of calories as compared to the other macronutrients (fat-9 calories/g, Carbs and Protiens-4 calories/g) but let's not view calories as fat potential, let's look at it as energy potential. Your diet should contain a 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% good fats. So what are good fats and bad fats then? Well, let's look below and find out!  The Good Fats

	Monounsaturated Fats
	Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). Nuts including peanuts, walnuts, almonds and pistachios, avocado, canola and olive oil are high in MUFAs. MUFAs have also been found to help in weight loss, particularly body fat. Click here for more weight loss nutrition tips.
	Polyunsaturated Fats
	Polyunsaturated fats also lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Seafood like salmon and fish oil, as well as corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils are high in polyunsaturated fats. Omega 3 fatty acids belong to this group.

The Bad Fats

	Saturated Fats
	Saturated fats raise total blood cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol). Saturated fats are mainly found in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Some plant foods are also high in saturated fats such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil.
	Trans Fats
	Trans fats are invented as scientists began to "hydrogenate" liquid oils so that they can withstand better in food production process and provide a better shelf life. As a result of hydrogenation, trans fatty acids are formed. Trans fatty acids are found in many commercially packaged foods, commercially fried food such as French Fries from some fast food chains, other packaged snacks such as microwaved popcorn as well as in vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine.