Good Fat vs. Bad Fat

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mtabh
mtabh Posts: 128 Member
What is considered good fat?

Today I had 15g Total Fat. The daily summary narrows it down as 1g Saturated, 1g Polyunsaturated, 3g Monounsaturated and 0g Trans. Those only add up to 5g of fat, where does the rest come from?

What kind of fat should I avoid? Thanks in advance.
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Replies

  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
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    "Myth: All fats are equal—and equally bad for you.

    Fact: Saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. But monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease."
    :] <3

    You don't have to avoid them 100%, but limit the saturated and trans and allow a little more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated in comparison to the other two. I quoted that from this page and it has a lot more information:

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    "Myth: All fats are equal—and equally bad for you.

    Fact: Saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. But monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease."
    :] <3

    You don't have to avoid them 100%, but limit the saturated and trans and allow a little more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated in comparison to the other two. I quoted that from this page and it has a lot more information:

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm


    Thank you! I googled it after no replies. Just thought I'd get better information here. This is the same article I read. LOL.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    What is considered good fat?

    Today I had 15g Total Fat. The daily summary narrows it down as 1g Saturated, 1g Polyunsaturated, 3g Monounsaturated and 0g Trans. Those only add up to 5g of fat, where does the rest come from?

    What kind of fat should I avoid? Thanks in advance.

    There are no other fats, it's likely whoever added the foods didn't break the fats down so you have a number of false 0g entries. The best fats are monounsaturates and omega-3 polyunsaturates. Monounsaturates are found in olives, avocados, peanuts and almonds, good for the cardiovascular system and are sometimes known as omega-9. Long chain omega-3s make oily fish superfoods, these are essential fatty acids, are powerful anti-inflammatories, beneficial for every cell in the body, in preventing and treating a huge range of mental and physical health complaints.

    Omega-6 polyunsaturates can be pro-inflammatory but not bad in moderation, it's the quantity westerners eat that is the problem, the poor ratio of omega-3 to omega-6. They are particularly in nuts, seeds, wholegrains, soy beans and many vegetable oils used in catering.

    Saturates divide into animal fats and plant saturates (coconut, red palm, shea butter), the former being less desirable than the latter for weight management because the body finds it relatively easy to convert animal fat to human fat. We do however need a small amount of saturated fat for health and they can carry vitamins so it's not all bad news.

    Trans are man made frankenfats that have no redeeming features whatsoever, even tiny amounts are proven to increase the risk of health problems so avoid them like the plague. They are AKA hydrogenated.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Options
    "Myth: All fats are equal—and equally bad for you.

    Fact: Saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. But monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease."
    :] <3

    You don't have to avoid them 100%, but limit the saturated and trans and allow a little more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated in comparison to the other two. I quoted that from this page and it has a lot more information:

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm

    Myth: Saturated fats are bad for you.
  • soliddreams
    Options
    Really the only fats that are "bad" for you are the ones that are made by people.

    http://www.nowfoods.com/Sports/Products/StrengthAndPerformance/M099642.htm

    Saturated fat? Yup. Great? Yup. Coconut Oil, and I believe Macadamia Nut Oil are all saturated.

    Really you just want to avoid the trans, I would assume, since those are the "manufactured" types.
  • fraser112
    Options
    What is considered good fat?

    Today I had 15g Total Fat. The daily summary narrows it down as 1g Saturated, 1g Polyunsaturated, 3g Monounsaturated and 0g Trans. Those only add up to 5g of fat, where does the rest come from?

    What kind of fat should I avoid? Thanks in advance.

    Trans fats are bad ironiclly the ones that replaced beef dripping that made food taste better. I personally think the pathetic state of men and the high incident of depression is due to low fat intake.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Options
    Satuarted fats are not bad for you. Indeed a diet rich in natural animal/plant saturated fats will lower cholesterol in the blood. A diet rich in carbs has been shown to increase cholesterol in the blood. This was shown in a Harvard study and several others.

    "During 5–23 years’ follow-up of 347,747 subjects, 11,006 developed CHD or stroke. Intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD. The pooled relative risk estimates that compared extreme quantiles of saturated fat intake were 1.07 for CHD, 0.81 for stroke, and 1.00 for CVD. In other words, those who ate the highest amounts of saturated fat had no greater risk of CVD than those who ate the lowest. Consideration of age, sex, and study quality did not change the results"


    References

    1. Siri-Tarino PW, et al. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Published ahead of print January 13, 2010. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27725.

    2. Holmberg S, et al. Food Choices and Coronary Heart Disease: A Population Based Cohort Study of Rural Swedish Men with 12 Years of Follow-up. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2009; 6: 2626-2638.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2790097/pdf/ijerph-06-02626.pdf

    3. Kirihara Y, et al. The Relationship between Total Blood Cholesterol Levels and All-cause Mortality in Fukui City, and Meta-analysis of This Relationship in Japan. Journal of Lipid Nutrition, 2008; 17 (1): 67-78.

    http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jln/17/1/67/_pdf/-char/ja/
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,958 Member
    Options
    The only truly bad fats are partially hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats called trans fats. Fats to limit are ones high in omega 6, which generally are the refined grains like corn, soy, safflower, grapeseed that kind of thing. Saying that, omega consumption is necessary for good health those being omega 3's found in seafood, algae, and green plants and omega 6's mostly found in seeds and nuts. Omega's, both n:3 and n:6 should try to be consumed from the whole matrix of where they originally come from as opposed to getting them in refined foods because these oils are very fragine and should not be exposed to light, oxygen or heat, so getting them in refined foods generally means exposure and exposure translates into oxidation and free radicals, not what we really want to be consuming. These omega's should represent only about 4% of total calories with a ratio of 1:1 to 4:1 ideally. Monounsaturated fats are good to consume, ideally in unrefined sources.

    Saturated fats crime is, it's been linked to increased LDL cholesterol, which for the most part is true, but not all saturated fat isomers do that, and what nobody seems to allude to is that saturated fat also raises HDL more than any other fat and SFA's also influence the particle size of LDL making them bigger, more buoyant and in fact, less atherogenic. Saturated fats that are found in tropical latitudes like unrefined coconut and palm oils have had virtually no effect on those populations when other confounders are taken into consideration like adoption to Western Diets, and lifstyle, not to mention tha sheer volume of healthy vitamins and minerals as well.
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    Options
    15g of fat might not be enough for you. It certainly isn't for me. I eat more than 100g of fat a day. check my diary - I'm serious. Am I fat? No. Will I get fat? No?

    Why? Because I work hard and eat clean, yes healthy fats are clean are great for fat loss/muscle gain for some people.

    Peanut, almond etc butter
    Pure cocoa
    Seeds and nuts
    Avocado
    Extra virgin olive oil
    Hemp seed oil
    Coconut oil
    Soya milk
    Almond milk
    Olives
    Egg yolks
    etc!
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Options

    Trans fats are bad ironiclly the ones that replaced beef dripping that made food taste better. I personally think the pathetic state of men and the high incident of depression is due to low fat intake.

    This is solid. I know I'm a lot happier after eating a package of bacon, or a big ribeye.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Options
    *sigh* Why do these discussion always have to be polarised into low fat versus high fat? People who are critical or restrictive over certain types of fats are often sensible enough to recommend/ eat a moderate fat diet; working in healthcare myself I don't know any lifestyle healthcare professional who is stuck in the eighties.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
    Options
    "Myth: All fats are equal—and equally bad for you.

    Fact: Saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. But monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease."
    :] <3

    You don't have to avoid them 100%, but limit the saturated and trans and allow a little more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated in comparison to the other two. I quoted that from this page and it has a lot more information:

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm

    saturated fats are not bad for you... its just trans fats that you should avoid eating which are basically processed fats that have been super heated from liquid fats to solid fats in a process called hydrogination.. i would recomend 1/3 of each of ur daily caories come from each fat of saturated monounsaturated and polyunsaturated... so if ur macros are at 30% fat then eat 10% fat of each... it honestly isnt that serious tho and just eat all the fat u want cuz its good for you.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Options
    Myth: Saturated fats are bad for you.

    Whether or not this is a myth would depend on who "you" is and the source of the saturated fat. All saturated fats are not created equal, and neither are all human bodies. But if you want a good simple general rule for fats - "avoid trans fats and eat more unsaturated than saturated fats" is a pretty good one.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Options
    *sigh* Why do these discussion always have to be polarised into low fat versus high fat? People who are critical or restrictive over certain types of fats are often sensible enough to recommend/ eat a moderate fat diet; working in healthcare myself I don't know any lifestyle healthcare professional who is stuck in the eighties.

    I believe a lot of it is because non-healthcare professionals who write books and blogs about nutrition like to dispel the "myths" of recommendations that are several decades old as if they are imparting some great wisdom that the government and healthcare industry worldwide has been conspiring to hide from you.
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    What is considered good fat?

    Today I had 15g Total Fat. The daily summary narrows it down as 1g Saturated, 1g Polyunsaturated, 3g Monounsaturated and 0g Trans. Those only add up to 5g of fat, where does the rest come from?

    What kind of fat should I avoid? Thanks in advance.

    There are no other fats, it's likely whoever added the foods didn't break the fats down so you have a number of false 0g entries. The best fats are monounsaturates and omega-3 polyunsaturates. Monounsaturates are found in olives, avocados, peanuts and almonds, good for the cardiovascular system and are sometimes known as omega-9. Long chain omega-3s make oily fish superfoods, these are essential fatty acids, are powerful anti-inflammatories, beneficial for every cell in the body, in preventing and treating a huge range of mental and physical health complaints.

    Omega-6 polyunsaturates can be pro-inflammatory but not bad in moderation, it's the quantity westerners eat that is the problem, the poor ratio of omega-3 to omega-6. They are particularly in nuts, seeds, wholegrains, soy beans and many vegetable oils used in catering.

    Saturates divide into animal fats and plant saturates (coconut, red palm, shea butter), the former being less desirable than the latter for weight management because the body finds it relatively easy to convert animal fat to human fat. We do however need a small amount of saturated fat for health and they can carry vitamins so it's not all bad news.

    Trans are man made frankenfats that have no redeeming features whatsoever, even tiny amounts are proven to increase the risk of health problems so avoid them like the plague. They are AKA hydrogenated.

    Thank you for your response!
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    Really the only fats that are "bad" for you are the ones that are made by people.

    http://www.nowfoods.com/Sports/Products/StrengthAndPerformance/M099642.htm

    Saturated fat? Yup. Great? Yup. Coconut Oil, and I believe Macadamia Nut Oil are all saturated.

    Really you just want to avoid the trans, I would assume, since those are the "manufactured" types.

    Thank you for this answer.
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    Satuarted fats are not bad for you. Indeed a diet rich in natural animal/plant saturated fats will lower cholesterol in the blood. A diet rich in carbs has been shown to increase cholesterol in the blood. This was shown in a Harvard study and several others.

    "During 5–23 years’ follow-up of 347,747 subjects, 11,006 developed CHD or stroke. Intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD. The pooled relative risk estimates that compared extreme quantiles of saturated fat intake were 1.07 for CHD, 0.81 for stroke, and 1.00 for CVD. In other words, those who ate the highest amounts of saturated fat had no greater risk of CVD than those who ate the lowest. Consideration of age, sex, and study quality did not change the results"


    References

    1. Siri-Tarino PW, et al. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Published ahead of print January 13, 2010. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27725.

    2. Holmberg S, et al. Food Choices and Coronary Heart Disease: A Population Based Cohort Study of Rural Swedish Men with 12 Years of Follow-up. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2009; 6: 2626-2638.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2790097/pdf/ijerph-06-02626.pdf

    3. Kirihara Y, et al. The Relationship between Total Blood Cholesterol Levels and All-cause Mortality in Fukui City, and Meta-analysis of This Relationship in Japan. Journal of Lipid Nutrition, 2008; 17 (1): 67-78.

    http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jln/17/1/67/_pdf/-char/ja/

    Thank you!
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    The only truly bad fats are partially hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats called trans fats. Fats to limit are ones high in omega 6, which generally are the refined grains like corn, soy, safflower, grapeseed that kind of thing. Saying that, omega consumption is necessary for good health those being omega 3's found in seafood, algae, and green plants and omega 6's mostly found in seeds and nuts. Omega's, both n:3 and n:6 should try to be consumed from the whole matrix of where they originally come from as opposed to getting them in refined foods because these oils are very fragine and should not be exposed to light, oxygen or heat, so getting them in refined foods generally means exposure and exposure translates into oxidation and free radicals, not what we really want to be consuming. These omega's should represent only about 4% of total calories with a ratio of 1:1 to 4:1 ideally. Monounsaturated fats are good to consume, ideally in unrefined sources.

    Saturated fats crime is, it's been linked to increased LDL cholesterol, which for the most part is true, but not all saturated fat isomers do that, and what nobody seems to allude to is that saturated fat also raises HDL more than any other fat and SFA's also influence the particle size of LDL making them bigger, more buoyant and in fact, less atherogenic. Saturated fats that are found in tropical latitudes like unrefined coconut and palm oils have had virtually no effect on those populations when other confounders are taken into consideration like adoption to Western Diets, and lifstyle, not to mention tha sheer volume of healthy vitamins and minerals as well.

    Thank you for your reply.
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    15g of fat might not be enough for you. It certainly isn't for me. I eat more than 100g of fat a day. check my diary - I'm serious. Am I fat? No. Will I get fat? No?

    Why? Because I work hard and eat clean, yes healthy fats are clean are great for fat loss/muscle gain for some people.

    Peanut, almond etc butter
    Pure cocoa
    Seeds and nuts
    Avocado
    Extra virgin olive oil
    Hemp seed oil
    Coconut oil
    Soya milk
    Almond milk
    Olives
    Egg yolks
    etc!

    Thanks for the input. I have mastered eating under my allowed calories and have started to choose better foods. Now I am trying to get all of my nutritional values to line up. I wasn't necessarily going for a low fat diet, I am trying to learn about types of fat. This thread has proved very useful. Thanks for your input.
  • mtabh
    mtabh Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    "Myth: All fats are equal—and equally bad for you.

    Fact: Saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. But monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease."
    :] <3

    You don't have to avoid them 100%, but limit the saturated and trans and allow a little more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated in comparison to the other two. I quoted that from this page and it has a lot more information:

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm

    saturated fats are not bad for you... its just trans fats that you should avoid eating which are basically processed fats that have been super heated from liquid fats to solid fats in a process called hydrogination.. i would recomend 1/3 of each of ur daily caories come from each fat of saturated monounsaturated and polyunsaturated... so if ur macros are at 30% fat then eat 10% fat of each... it honestly isnt that serious tho and just eat all the fat u want cuz its good for you.

    That last part made me laugh. Thank you.