Question about Fats???

readytochange42

I'm noticing a lot of foods are labeled as high fat but have low saturated fat. I always feel bad when I go over on my overall fat grams. Is something with 18g of fat but only 2 or 3 grams of saturated fat still healthy? Not sure which one I should pay attention to more?

janejellyroll

Is there a specific medical reason that you're advised to be on a low fat diet? As long as it isn't crowding out other things that you need (like protein or fiber), I wouldn't worry too much about sometimes exceeding my fat goal. The only thing to be aware of with fat is that the calories *can* add up quickly, so choosing a lot of high fat foods may make it difficult to meet your calorie goals (unless you are adjusting elsewhere).

cityruss

Something with 18g of fat and 2g or 3g of saturated fat is neither inherently healthy or unhealthy. Just like everything it's how it fits in to your overall diet.

MelaniaTrump

I opened my diary and it was the best thing I ever did.
People told me to get more protein and fiber - life changing.
Open your diary.
It holds you accountable !

lemurcat12

The macro recommendations are just one of many healthy options. It's important to get enough protein and for many fat isn't that satiating (but for others it is very satiating), but beyond that how much fat you get doesn't matter. Indeed, the US Dietary Guidelines no longer recommend staying below a particular fat percentage, I believe.

Rather than worry about macros overall, I'd make sure you are hitting your protein (getting enough protein helps preserve muscle mass when you are losing weight, although strength training will make this a lot more likely). Beyond that, I'd just see where everything falls and also pay attention to if and when you are hungry. If you aren't hungry, no reason to change anything.

I do watch sat fat, personally, although I don't freak if I go over on occasion, I just try to be under most of the time.

readytochange42

janejellyroll wrote: »

Is there a specific medical reason that you're advised to be on a low fat diet?

Yes. I'm 44 and had a heart attack less than 2 months ago.

janejellyroll

readytochange42 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Is there a specific medical reason that you're advised to be on a low fat diet?

Yes. I'm 44 and had a heart attack less than 2 months ago.

Do you have a fat goal from your health care team? Assuming it is over 18 grams a day, a food with 18 grams of fat can still fit into a healthy diet as long as you're meeting your overall goal for fat for the day.

Individual foods are much less important than your total consumption for the day. You may find over time that you want to reduce your higher fat items because they restrict the amount of fat you have left for the rest of the day . . . or you may find that you enjoy that food that you still want to include it. It's up to you.

KarlynKeto

There are now reasons to devour mono fats, embrace sat fats, avoid poly fats found in ultra processed seed oils like soy and canola (extracted using chemicals and laced with deodorizer), and run as far as you can from trans fats (margarine, crisco, coolwhip, and what is used in processed boxed/bagged type foods).

My rule of thumb is to eat what nature made, avoid all man made processed oils. I will do cold or expelled pressed, like avocado and coconut oils. So I now enjoy butter, cheese, chia seeds, and coconut without stressing about them being high in sat fats. I also avoid processed foods like mayo, jar sauces, and anything else with the bad oils and fats.

Keep in mind there isn't just one kind of sat fats; there are many kinds found in nature. Assuming all sat fats are 'bad' is old science, the real unhealthy culprit looks to be the highly processed versions.

lemurcat12

readytochange42 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Is there a specific medical reason that you're advised to be on a low fat diet?

Yes. I'm 44 and had a heart attack less than 2 months ago.

Ah, then ignore my comments above and follow the advice of your doctors and any dietitian you've been referred to (or ask if you can be, as that would likely be helpful).

Hennipop1

Yes. I'm 44 and had a heart attack less than 2 months ago.

Ask your doctor about it but I am like 99% sure that the important fat that you need is unsaturated fat, because your body needs it to absorb the vitamins A, D, E and K, keep your skin healthy and other important stuff. That's because it has double-bonds in between the C-Atoms. In addition, there are two types of cholesterol, one with high density and one with low density. One can get suck in your blood vessels and hence be a cause of heart attacks. The other one can remove it.
Technically, humans don't need saturated fat exept for using it as an energy source.

But as I said, ask your doctor, this is the stuff I learned at school in biochemistry.

Hennipop1

Any ways, sesame oil for example is much healthier than butter.

I think what I meant is the same as KarlynKeto wrote

IGbnat24

I would talk to your doctors about this!

EddieP50

My doctor told me to keep total fat calories below 30 to 35% of the total calories. So I check all the labels of anything I buy. If a serving has 100 calories then I look for 35 fat calories or less. Also keep saturated fat as low as possible. That is the bad fat that can clog your arteries and raise cholesterol in the blood. And of course check your diary goals and try keep Total Fat and Saturated Fat below those goals. If you have high blood pressure you should limit sodium as well.

Since you had a heart attack I would recommend you definitely see your doctor to develop a diet plan.

pzarnosky

So much incorrect/bad science....

Let's start with the easy one; trans fats. You want to get as close to zero of these as possible. They are bad all around. Bad enough that food companies are being forced to eliminate them from their products. Trans fats are common in pastries, donuts, frozen pizzas/meals. The trick about them, is that if there is less than .5g per serving, they don't have add it onto the food label.
fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/labelingnutrition/ucm274590.htm

Saturated fats next. You also want to limit these. These are found heavily in animal products. Coconut oil actually has the highest amount of saturated fats overall but for some reason people think that because they are medium chain fatty acids that makes a difference. It doesn't. They get broken down by the same enzymes in the same way every other saturated fat does. The main reason you want to limit saturated fat is because it causes an upregulation of a hormone that is involved in cholesterol synthesis in the body. To limit saturated fats while eating animal products, look for lean cuts of meat and (unfortunately) switch to skim milk.

Last are the unsaturated fatty acids (poly and mono) aka PUFA's and MUFA's. These are the the "healthy" fats. One of the best things you can do is work on getting your Omega-3 fatty acids. You should incorporate fatty fish into your diet to get Omega-3's. Most people get plenty of Omega-6's as these are the ones found in a lot of the oils but the American diet is horribly lacking in Omega-3's overall. The reason you have to eat 3's and 6's is because your body cannot make them (it's all a bunch of biochemistry) and they are essential to normal function.

It doesn't end at fats though. There is an overwhelming amount of research into how carbohydrates affect cholesterol. And while we're on cholesterol, I'd like to straighten something out. LDL is not a type of cholesterol, it's low density lipoprotein and it carries cholesterol and fatty acids from you liver to all body tissues. HDL, high density lipoprotein picks up cholesterol from all body cells and brings it back to the liver to be used to make things like hormones and bile acids. Anyways, carbs are great for you, if you eat them right. Work on switching to whole grain options as opposed to breads/pastas/treats with a lot of sugar and white flour. Whole grain products carry a vast amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that help your body do what it needs to do.

Overall it's about finding a balance between eating a nutrient dense diet, incorporating exercise, and maintaining a healthy body weight, while at the same time not going overboard and forgetting how nice it is to eat donuts here and there. You don't have to be perfect on what you eat every day, but if you take time with it and slowly work on learning and making changes towards healthier choices it becomes second nature.