fats ~ KISS (keep it simple stupid) Please !

iojoi

can someone do a simple explanation of saturated and unsaturated fats ?
what is good? what is bad? and also explain where olive oil comes into the spectrum of good and bad fats thanks ....

iojoi

please if someone can explain it would be so helpful because i find these links etc make it so confusing
by the time i have read them i am confused all over again ..


from confused.com

erickirb

There are two types of fat to be aware of. Saturated fats - let's call them "the enemy" and unsaturated fats - "the good guys"! It is easy to tell the difference because saturated fats are hard at room temperature. Saturated fats are not essential to your health. They come from animals and are found in meat, eggs and cheese. They are harder to digest and full of cholesterol.

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and have been divided into two groups. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, and polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower oil.
Polyunsaturated fats are split into Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6 fatty acids. Monounsaturated fat (Omega 9) although not essential, is not harmful in moderation - a good quality (extra virgin first cold pressed) olive oil is a healthier alternative to the usual vegetable oil.

http://www.sideroad.com/Weight_Loss/fat-saturated-unsaturated.html

Wecandothis

Except for Coconut Oil which is considered a saturated fat - and it's very good for you.

I don't know how to make this topic 'simple'. It's not. Add that to the fact that there are a bazillion research projects out there, some with contrary evidence and... well it's just not a simple topic.

I personally do it this way:

I use EVOO, Almond Oil, and Coconut oil exclusively when cooking. Some foods I eat are fat free - like skim milk - but only because I'm trying to shave some calories that way. I eat Egg yokes - they are full of fat. *shrug*

mamaturner

Alright, even though I had to take Nutrition in order to get my degree, it's been a couple years of unused knowledge, but it's good to know, so I looked it up!! Saturated fats come from animal products and processed foods, they are not heart healthy and raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) I remember LDL as this becauseyou want your bad cholesterol to be Low. Unsaturated fats then are obviously what raise your HDL (good cholesterol) again you want you good cholesterol to be High, they also lower your LDL, which is VERY good. These fats come from nuts, avacados, and olives. Does that help?!?

iojoi

thank you that helps enormously

July24Lioness

Alright, even though I had to take Nutrition in order to get my degree, it's been a couple years of unused knowledge, but it's good to know, so I looked it up!! Saturated fats come from animal products and processed foods, they are not heart healthy and raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) I remember LDL as this becauseyou want your bad cholesterol to be Low. Unsaturated fats then are obviously what raise your HDL (good cholesterol) again you want you good cholesterol to be High, they also lower your LDL, which is VERY good. These fats come from nuts, avacados, and olives. Does that help?!?

Actually, let me confuse everyone here for a minute.

Because saturated fats are given a bad rap where the government and medical community are concerned and Polyunsaturated fats(PUFAS, vegetables oils) are given a "healthy" thumbs up and this is far, far, far from the case. Vegetable oils are very bad for you.............

Saturated fats that come naturally (animal products and coconut oil are the best 2) DO NOT raise LDL.
Since I have decreased my processed foods, I eat an abundance of animal fats and coconut oil, both saturated fats and my total cholesterol is steady decreasing (LDL has decreased and HDL has increased). My triglycerides are also decreasing.

My blood work from December, April and July are posted in my signature. Please feel free to look at it. I will also be taking blood work again around the middle of October and will post those results too.


Here is some reading material regarding this:

http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/reader_high_triglycerides_sugar_intake.htm

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag97/nov-lbn97.html

http://www.thincs.org/links.htm

http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm

http://www.preventionisbest.com/site/saturatedfat.html

http://www.thescreamonline.com/essays/essays5-1/vegoil.html

songbyrdsweet

Okay, let's not forget that we NEED saturated fats. They are the building blocks for hormones, the coverings to our nerves, and our cell walls. If our cell walls were made of unsaturated fats, they'd actually be rigid and wouldn't work properly and we'd die. Saturated fats aren't an 'enemy', they just need to be monitored if you have high cholesterol. Some saturated fats, like egg yolks, actually raise good cholesterol (HDL) without much effect on bad cholesterol (LDL). Trans fats like those found in margarine will raise your LDL cholesterol and lower your HDL cholesterol. Trans fats were previously unsaturated, but are artificially saturated with hydrogen so they'll be solid. The problem lies in the fact that the hydrogens aren't in the right place like in a naturally saturated fat, so they aren't carried around in the body in the same way.

July24Lioness

Okay, let's not forget that we NEED saturated fats. They are the building blocks for hormones, the coverings to our nerves, and our cell walls. If our cell walls were made of unsaturated fats, they'd actually be rigid and wouldn't work properly and we'd die. Saturated fats aren't an 'enemy', they just need to be monitored if you have high cholesterol. Some saturated fats, like egg yolks, actually raise good cholesterol (HDL) without much effect on bad cholesterol (LDL). Trans fats like those found in margarine will raise your LDL cholesterol and lower your HDL cholesterol. Trans fats were previously unsaturated, but are artificially saturated with hydrogen so they'll be solid. The problem lies in the fact that the hydrogens aren't in the right place like in a naturally saturated fat, so they aren't carried around in the body in the same way.

Thanks for this. I posted some articles that says the same thing as sometimes I don't have my words right when trying to type it out.............

Natural occurring saturated fats as mentioned (animal fats and eggs, coconut oil) are good for you and will raise your HDL and lower your LDL.

Trans fats and PUFAS will raise your LDL and your total cholesterol.

songbyrdsweet

Okay, let's not forget that we NEED saturated fats. They are the building blocks for hormones, the coverings to our nerves, and our cell walls. If our cell walls were made of unsaturated fats, they'd actually be rigid and wouldn't work properly and we'd die. Saturated fats aren't an 'enemy', they just need to be monitored if you have high cholesterol. Some saturated fats, like egg yolks, actually raise good cholesterol (HDL) without much effect on bad cholesterol (LDL). Trans fats like those found in margarine will raise your LDL cholesterol and lower your HDL cholesterol. Trans fats were previously unsaturated, but are artificially saturated with hydrogen so they'll be solid. The problem lies in the fact that the hydrogens aren't in the right place like in a naturally saturated fat, so they aren't carried around in the body in the same way.

Thanks for this. I posted some articles that says the same thing as sometimes I don't have my words right when trying to type it out.............

Natural occurring saturated fats as mentioned (animal fats and eggs, coconut oil) are good for you and will raise your HDL and lower your LDL.

Trans fats and PUFAS will raise your LDL and your total cholesterol.

I haven't heard that natural PUFAs increase LDL cholesterol, but HDL cholesterol does contain more cholesterol, which is why it's high-density (high-density lipoprotein vs. low-density lipoprotein).

mrd232

The main reason for giving many PUFA sources a bad name is simply because typical PUFA oils upset the Omega 3 / 6 balance as most have a high Omega 6 count.

HOWEVER, keep up the Omega 3 intake (fatty fishes, supplements, eggs) and feel free to have some EVOO (higher Omega 6 count).

Some PUFAs generally get a bad name because of their source (Canola - rapeseed, Vegetable - highly processed, etc).