good fat, bad fat

redon
redon Posts: 8
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
The tool counts calories and gr/cups disregardig the quality of the ingredients/food. Avocados containes lots of fat like the mackarels but it should be anyway healtier than the same content in beef meat. Tried to figure out how to consider all these different variable but still struggling to find a solution.

Any idea/suggestion?

:grumble:

Replies

  • marymooster
    marymooster Posts: 134 Member
    Hope this helps.... In my nutrition course.... I learned fat counts as fat... Fat has 9 cal /gram no matter where it comes from so from the caloric intake... that is that.... However... how it is used and how it affects us there depends on the type of fat. They way I look at it the less saturated fat the better.. More fats from natural food sources the better. for me... I have gone off butter and spreads... and use avocado, and olive oil,, hummus ,yogurt ,for that ... However in saying that love a bit of steak or pork at times maybe once or twice a month and I don't like the fat trimmed.... so. I guess it is a balance as well......
  • crasula
    crasula Posts: 53 Member
    This is a huge and often confusing subject unless you pick up a good book to explain the different fat groups but i'll try to point you in the right direction.
    There are basically 3 types of fat; Saturated, Mono unsaturated and Poly unsaturated.

    Meat & dairy products contain saturated fats which are generally considered to be the bad ones as these are the ones the liver converts to cholesterol.

    Mono unsaturated fats (which include advocados) and Poly unsturated fats come from nuts & nut oils, olives, some flower based oil, corn, canola (the list is quite long). These don't contain cholesterol and in moderation are considered to have health benefits, e.g. Olive Oil, Almond Oil.

    Like i mentioned initially it's quite an extensive subject but you need approximately 2 table spoons of fat per day to maintain the body at a health level. It's the same with protein and carbs, the body also needs fat but keep away from TRANSFATS/ HYDROGINATED FATS as our body is just not geared to deal with these and these are the ones which are closely linked to obesity.
  • Firesign
    Firesign Posts: 169 Member
    What about CLA( tonalin ) and Borage oil?? Does any one take them?
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    The tool counts calories and gr/cups disregardig the quality of the ingredients/food. Avocados containes lots of fat like the mackarels but it should be anyway healtier than the same content in beef meat. Tried to figure out how to consider all these different variable but still struggling to find a solution.

    Any idea/suggestion?

    :grumble:

    Keep it simple. Keep your total fat intake to around 30% of total calories (remember each g of fat is 9 calories) and, within that amount, try to make choices from "good" fat sources.

    See--that was easy...:happy:
  • The tool counts calories and gr/cups disregardig the quality of the ingredients/food. Avocados containes lots of fat like the mackarels but it should be anyway healtier than the same content in beef meat. Tried to figure out how to consider all these different variable but still struggling to find a solution.

    Any idea/suggestion?

    :grumble:

    I have added a saturated fat column to my diary (click the foods tab, then settings, then pick saturated fat from 1 of the drop down lists in the nutrients tracked and save changes) That way you are keeping track of the good and the bad fats. If you keep fat at less than 30% and saturated fat at less than 10% (I aim for 7%) you should be ok. MFP automatically sets the fat at 30% and sat fat at 10% so there is no need to alter the goals
  • crasula
    crasula Posts: 53 Member
    What about CLA( tonalin ) and Borage oil?? Does any one take them?

    Tonalin is not a fat it's a supplement used to burn fat more effectively in the body and Borage Oil (or Starflower Oil) is also typically used as a GLA supplement too although the body tends to produce it's own GLA. Starflow Oil is also used in foods in certain countries. It's a Mono unsaturated oil too.
  • Firesign
    Firesign Posts: 169 Member
    What about CLA( tonalin ) and Borage oil?? Does any one take them?

    Tonalin is not a fat it's a supplement used to burn fat more effectively in the body and Borage Oil (or Starflower Oil) is also typically used as a GLA supplement too although the body tends to produce it's own GLA. Starflow Oil is also used in foods in certain countries. It's a Mono unsaturated oil too.

    So Are they both good to take or not?? Are they beneficial or a waste of money???
  • crasula
    crasula Posts: 53 Member
    They are both supplements which can aid the fat breakdown in the body. I'm personally a bit skeptical about taking anything which i haven't researched the side effects of but in a natural form Starflow oil in a culinary sense couldn't do any harm although you'll probably need to look hard to find it. As for Tonalin it seems we naturally produce this in our body so unless you've got a medical problem or are trying to speed up the metabolic process I can't see the point of taking it. I suppose hundreds of people out there could tell you why you should take it but it's probably best to consult a GP.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    What about CLA( tonalin ) and Borage oil?? Does any one take them?

    Tonalin is not a fat it's a supplement used to burn fat more effectively in the body and Borage Oil (or Starflower Oil) is also typically used as a GLA supplement too although the body tends to produce it's own GLA. Starflow Oil is also used in foods in certain countries. It's a Mono unsaturated oil too.

    So Are they both good to take or not?? Are they beneficial or a waste of money???

    Yes, they are a waste of money. There are no magic bullets.
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