Good fats and bad fats?

FayeandBo
FayeandBo Posts: 46
edited October 2014 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all, I just signed up a couple weeks ago and noticed that the dietary goals filled in for me had 0 grams of Monounsaturated fat and 0 grams of Polyunsaturated fat, while having 8 grams of saturated fat. This confuses me, as those two fats are supposed to be good for you and everyone knows saturated fat isn't. Mayo Clinic describes Monounsaturated fat saying " Studies show that eating foods rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease. Research also shows that MUFAs may benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which can be especially helpful if you have type 2 diabetes"
and Polyunsaturated fat as " type of fat found mostly in plant-based foods and oils. Evidence shows that eating foods rich in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease. PUFAs may also help decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes."

while saturated fat is described as "Saturated fat raises total blood cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, which can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Saturated fat may also increase your risk of type 2 diabetes."

Why would fitnesspal give me 0 of these two good for you fats, while allowing me saturated fat? That makes no sense to me.
Thanks in advance for any replies explaining this
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Replies

  • FayeandBo
    FayeandBo Posts: 46
    Edit: it was actually 13 grams of saturated fat they suggested
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,379 Member
    This is because there are no set guidelines for mono and polyunsaturated fats and no requirement that they be listed on food labels.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,379 Member
    Also, saturated fat is not the devil.
  • bluntlysally
    bluntlysally Posts: 150 Member
    you will find a whole bunch of folks here who eat what others would consider "high fat" - myself included.

    say it with me... fat doesn't make you fat, more calories in than out does.
  • FayeandBo
    FayeandBo Posts: 46
    Interesting, they should still put something about that on there since the one they set for you is recommended and it could misinform people about good fats and bad fats. And yeah saturated fat isn't "the devil" but it definitely isn't healthier than mono or poly unsaturated fats(they are both much healthier), which is what confused me. When I first looked at my nutritional goals and it said I was over the monounsaturated fat goal (i'd had 2 grams) I was like um....no?
  • FayeandBo
    FayeandBo Posts: 46
    There is no official set guidelines but many doctors and dietitians recommend 20-22 grams of monounsaturated fat per 2000 calories
  • FayeandBo
    FayeandBo Posts: 46
    bluntlysally wrote: »
    you will find a whole bunch of folks here who eat what others would consider "high fat" - myself included.

    say it with me... fat doesn't make you fat, more calories in than out does.

    haha I agree

  • bokaba
    bokaba Posts: 171 Member
    I am still on the fence about the health implications of large quantities of saturated fat. That said, it is hard to eliminate saturated fats without eliminating other fats because many sources of poly and mono unsaturated fats like peanuts, almonds, avocado, coconut, etc. contain some saturated fat as well. The idea that fat makes you fat is based on a false analogy much like the belief in the middle ages that a plant that is shaped like an ear cures ear aches.
  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
    nicsflyingcircus wrote: »
    This is because there are no set guidelines for mono and polyunsaturated fats and no requirement that they be listed on food labels.
    ^^ I think this is the answer to your original question.

    Anyway, I think Mayo Clinic is spouting old dogma. I may get the details wrong but here's how I understand it:
    Years ago doctors hypothesized that eating saturated fat raises your risk for heart disease. But the studies that supported it are riddled with faulty logic and more recently there was a major meta-study (where they collected raw data from previously completed studies and analyze it as a whole) has shown no correlation between saturated fat and heart disease. That last meta-study included data on 600,000 participants.

    So the whole premise that we need to minimize our saturated fat intake is outdated and might just be completely false. The idea that saturated fat is somehow less healthy than other fats could also be wrong.

    There's also been studies on the balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids that suggest we need to eat these in a certain balance. I never remember which is which, but one if these is very prevalent in polyunsaturated fat sources while the other is much more prevalent in saturated fat. So the theory is that when people started replacing saturated fat with non-saturated fats they threw that balance off big-time.

    I guess to summarize: This is still an evolving and much debated area of nutritional science. Dig deep enough and you're going to find a lot of conflicting advice. I don't think there is a clear answer about it (yet).
  • FayeandBo
    FayeandBo Posts: 46
    bokaba wrote: »
    I am still on the fence about the health implications of large quantities of saturated fat. That said, it is hard to eliminate saturated fats without eliminating other fats because many sources of poly and mono unsaturated fats like peanuts, almonds, avocado, coconut, etc. contain some saturated fat as well. The idea that fat makes you fat is based on a false analogy much like the belief in the middle ages that a plant that is shaped like an ear cures ear aches.

    I wasn't suggesting that they put 0 saturated fat, I'm aware it'd be extremely hard to avoid any saturated fat, just like I said. it confused me that the saturated fats goal was so much higher than the poly or monounsaturated fats, and also confused as to why those fats were 0 in the first place.

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    The only fat I try to stay away from (limit) is Trans Fat also knows as Partially Hydrogenated Oils -- sold in packaged products like snack foods, cookies, some margarines and salad dressings, foods made with shortenings and partially hydrogenated oils.
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER........ MMM!!!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,869 Member
    That description is decades old dogma and why saturated fat is limited by comparison in the first place. Personally I try to limit oils high in refined polyunsaturated fats, but that's about it.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,869 Member
    jrose1982 wrote: »

    There's also been studies on the balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids that suggest we need to eat these in a certain balance. I never remember which is which, but one if these is very prevalent in polyunsaturated fat sources while the other is much more prevalent in saturated fat. So the theory is that when people started replacing saturated fat with non-saturated fats they threw that balance off big-time.
    Not quite. Both omega's are from polyunsaturated fat sources with omega 3 mostly coming from green plant sources, dairy from grass fed cows, from the oceans in various fish, basically. Omega 6's mostly from grains and refined vegetable oils. Too much omega 6 can impact the absorption of omega 3's and when a diet is over consumed omega 6's may be more inflammatory.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    2013sk wrote: »
    I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER........ MMM!!!
    +1
  • ShelbyLynS
    ShelbyLynS Posts: 4 Member
    I'm in the Fats are Good camp. 6 months ago I stopped eating sugar (no sucrose, nothing added, no honey, no artificial sweeteners, etc.) and I started eat whole fat foods. Foods labeled Low Fat have a ton of added sugar. I lost 13 pounds. My LDL went down 18 points and my HDL went up 6 point. I stopped eating most processed foods and no fast food. I eat what I cook. I read a lot on My Fitness Pal about low-fat foods. I hope that everyone will catch up with the science and come to understand fat doesn't make you fat--sugar makes you fat (and sick).

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