Healthy And Harmful Dietary Fats

Healthy fats are essential for the human body as they help to form fat-soluble vitamins, and supply you with essential fatty acids that are necessary for developing and maintaining cardiovascular and neurological health.

It is important to know which fats are healthy and which fats are detrimental to one's health in order to consume the correct foods. Since fats are high in calories, taking in an excessive amount will lead to weight gain whether it is healthy fat or not. Therefore, it's always wise to practice moderation when consuming these dietary sources of energy.

Harmful dietary fat

Trans fat 

This is a type of fat that is found in small amounts in certain foods. The problem with trans fat is that it's made from oils through a food processing procedure called partial hydrogenation, which elevates LDL and lowers HDL cholesterol. This can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Healthier dietary fat

Monounsaturated fatty acids

This is a fat found in numerous foods and oils and studies show that eating foods rich in these fatty acids decreases your risk of cardiac disease. These fatty acids can be helpful in patients with type 2 diabetes as they help to reduce glucose and control insulin levels.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

Found mostly in plant-based foods and oils such as olive oil, these fatty acids also reduce blood cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Omega-3 fatty acids 

Omega-3 is found in certain types of fatty fish such as tuna, salmon, mackerel, trout, herring and sardines and they seem to decrease the risk of developing coronary artery disease. 

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The "In-betweener"

Saturated fat

Saturated fat comes mainly from animal sources such as poultry, red meat and full-fat dairy products. This fat was previously thought to elevate LDL cholesterol levels, but the issue with that finding was the quality of the saturated fat.

Recommendations for fat intake

• Avoid trans fats, therefore, examine food labels and check for the amount of trans fat listed. Food containing less than 0.5 grams of traans fat can be labeled as 0 grams by law, so, check for any ingredients that are named "partially hydrogenated."
• Use liquid oils instead of solid fats when cooking of baking.
• Consume at least two portions of fatty fish a week in order to get an adequate amount of healthy omega-3 fatty acids in your body. Limit sizes to 120-180 grams of cooked seafood per serving and broil or bake seafood instead of frying.
• If you're going to consume meat and poultry the choose lean meat and skinless fowl. Also, get rid of any excess fat by trimming it off and remove any leftover skin on poultry.
• Choose your snacks wisely, if they contain fats, by checking for the saturated fats content in the product. Better yet, rather choose whole fruits and vegetables to snack on.