Fats

shadiisshac

Can someone give me the rundown on the difference between fats like poly mono sat etc. what should I avoid. Why is my goal 0 polysaturdated? Is it that bad? Thanks

kommodevaran

Avoid trans fat, and don't eat so much fat that you don't get in enough protein, or the nutrients associated with carb-y foods.

The 0 for poly should have been a "-" as in "not important".

nvmomketo

I agree that you should avoid trans fats. Nothing good there.

Polyunsaturated fats are important because that is where omega 3 and 6 come from. omega 6 is in a lot of plant oils, and omega 3 is in fish, seeds and nuts - flaxseed oil is very high but don't cook with it.

As a general rule, polyunsaturated fats are not a good choice to cook with. The oils are altered at high temeperatures and not as good for you. I would also skip most vegetable oils. Not the best choices.

Saturated fats are found in larger amounts in meats, eggs and dairy, but are also in other fat sources like olive oil. They are very stable to cook with and are healthy fats too.

Monounsaturated fats are similar to sat fats and can be used for cooking. Oive oil also has a lot.

kommodevaran

Oh, I'm sorry if I was unclear - I didn't mean that polyunsaturated fat isn't important, but that it isn't that important to track it.

RodaRose

You do not have to keep track of those fats and oils.
Try to limit transfats
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Trans-Fats_UCM_301120_Article.jsp#.V0IwN5MrJm8

Artificial trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.

The primary dietary source for trans fats in processed food is “partially hydrogenated oils." Look for them on the ingredient list on food packages. In November 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in human food.

Carlos_421

mangamadayan wrote: »

Fat is unjustly blamed and I can only blame the food industry and TV for it. The real culprits are carbs (sugar being one of them).

The real culprit is excess calories.
Sugar and carbs are likewise unjustly blamed and I can only blame the diet industry and tv for it (and the Internet).

AnvilHead

Carlos_421 wrote: »

mangamadayan wrote: »

Fat is unjustly blamed and I can only blame the food industry and TV for it. The real culprits are carbs (sugar being one of them).

The real culprit is excess calories.
Sugar and carbs are likewise unjustly blamed and I can only blame the diet industry and tv for it (and the Internet).

Cosigned.
(There sure have been a lot of "omgzzzz, sugar iz da debilz" posts lately - even more than usual, it seems. Full moon or what?)

To the OP - limit trans fats, eat the rest in moderation as part of an overall well-rounded diet. Fats are essential to many bodily functions and dietary fat does not equal body fat.

Carlos_421

AnvilHead wrote: »

Carlos_421 wrote: »

mangamadayan wrote: »

Fat is unjustly blamed and I can only blame the food industry and TV for it. The real culprits are carbs (sugar being one of them).

The real culprit is excess calories.
Sugar and carbs are likewise unjustly blamed and I can only blame the diet industry and tv for it (and the Internet).

Cosigned.
(There sure have been a lot of "sugar iz da debilz" posts lately - even more than usual, it seems. Full moon or what?)

To the OP - limit trans fats, eat the rest in moderation as part of an overall well-rounded diet. Fats are essential to many bodily functions and dietary fat does not equal body fat.

Cosign

(Now the circle is complete)

Strawblackcat

If you're just looking to lose weight, I wouldn't pay too much attention to tracking the types of fat you eat. Rather , I would focus on following your calorie goal and avoiding transfats.

But, if you're looking for a little more information...

Generally speaking, you don't want to heat any kind of polyunsaturated oil. These mostly include nut oils, seed oils, and fish oil. They easily oxidize at high temperatures and go rancid, which make them unhealthy to eat. They're best stores in the fridge in dark bottles, to prevent light from getting to them.

Monounsaturated fats and saturated fats are both more stable, and are suitable for frying. Saturated oils tend to be the more stable of the two, and can be heated to higher temperatures, since they don't oxidize as easily. The more saturated a fat is, the more solid it is at room temperature. The more unsaturated it is, the more liquid it will be at room temperature.

Different fats and oils (soybean, coconut, lard, olive oils, ect.) have blends of these three main categories in different amounts. For example, while lard is high in saturated fat, it also has a lot of monounsaturated fat. This makes it really good for frying, and gives it a whipped butter-like texture at room temperature. Tallow (rendered beef fat) is almost entirely saturated, making it SUPURB for frying, and it has the consistency of wax at room temperature.

We need all three types of these fats in order to stay healthy. The only ones that you really need to avoid are transfats. They are polyunsaturated oils (usually cheap ones like canola, soybean, and cottonseed,) that have been saturated through artificial means. They increase your risk for cardiovascular disease when consumed in any amount. Anything made with some kind of partially hydrogenated oil contains transfats, even if the label of the product claims "0 transfats!". This is because of a federal labeling loophole that allows foods with less than 0.5 grams of transfats per serving to be labeled as having no transfats.