Bad Fats and Good Fats

Bad Fats:

Saturated Fat. These fats, which are listed on the label, are found mostly in animal products such as meat, whole-milk dairy products, poultry skin, and egg yolks. Consuming too many of these fats can raise your “bad” cholesterol levels. Less than 10 percent of your total calories should be derived from saturated fat.

Trans Fat. This kind of fat was developed to increase the shelf-life of food. Manufacturers blast healthy, polyunsaturated oils with hydrogen gas to solidify them, and, in the process, make them incredibly unhealthy. Usually, Trans fat won’t be listed on the label of a product. Learn to “suspect” foods, such as margarines (unless it was indicated that “no trans fat” on the label), shortenings, deep-fried foods, fast foods, and many commercial baked goods such as cookies, pies, cakes, crackers, and doughnuts. Always try to check the ingredients list, and be on the lookout for partially hydrogenated oil-if it’s there, you have trans fat.

Good Fats:

“Good” or unsaturated fats are found in products derived from plant sources, such as vegetables oils, nuts, and seeds. There are two main categories.

Monounsaturated Fat. These fats are found in high concentrations in canola, peanut, as well as olives, peanut butter and avocados. These fats tend to help lower the “bad” Cholesterol (LDL) and raise the “good” cholesterol (HDL) in your body.

Polyunsaturated Fat. These fats are prevalent in sunflower, corn, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils, as well as nuts and fish (omega 3). They have been found out to help lower total cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease.

Keep in mind that whether the fat is good or bad, it is still contains calories.