Polysaturated vs Monosaturated

rudyjr1103
rudyjr1103 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Anybody know the difference between Polysaturated and Monosaturated? Do I add this to my diet?

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,111 Member
    To begin with, it's polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.

    They're two different kinds of fat--the unsaturated fats are more prevalent in plant foods, and saturated fats are more prevalent in meat and dairy--but it's not a strict division: there are plant sources of saturated fats, and animal sources of unsaturated fat.

    I'm not sure what you mean by adding them to your diet? Do you mean like a supplement? I've never heard of a supplement for unsaturated fat, and there are so many ways to get them from food, I don't know why anyone would supplement for them.

    Or do you mean is it good to include foods that contain unsaturated fats in your diet? I don't especially want to wade into that, since people hold some pretty strong views on both sides. When dietary consumption of fat and cholesterol was blamed for heart disease and related health problems, saturated fat was viewed as evil and unsaturated fats were seen as good.

    Personally I don't worry about it much; I like to see my saturated fat at no more than one-third of my fat intake (which means the remaining two-thirds would be mono- and polyunsaturated), but I don't get upset if it goes a little higher than that on occasion. I worry more about regularly consuming some good sources of omega-3s (an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid)--such as fatty fish, flax seed, walnuts, chia seeds, canola oil. Omega-3s are less prevalent in the modern American diet than they used to be, in part because of the shift from pastured beef and other animals that consumed more traditional diets, to animals fed (or "finished") mostly on grains, especially corn.
  • JessDickman72
    JessDickman72 Posts: 26 Member
    I know for sure the monosaturated fat actually helps fight the naughty fats like trans and saturated. Not positive on poly but you DO NEED good healthy fats incorporated for a balanced diet and to help keep other levels of fat/cholesterol in check.
  • rudyjr1103
    rudyjr1103 Posts: 2 Member
    @lynn_glenmont‌
    Lynn thanks for the info. So what you're saying its okay to eat both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats? However, keep the saturated fats low?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,111 Member
    rudyjr1103 wrote: »
    @lynn_glenmont‌
    Lynn thanks for the info. So what you're saying its okay to eat both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats? However, keep the saturated fats low?

    I'm saying I don't really want to take a side on that -- I'm really surprised that those with deeply held views on both sides of this issue haven't come out in full force yet.

    Long-standing advice from major national and international health organizations is to avoid sat fats and trans fats in favor of MUFAs and PUFAs (mono- and polyunsats). However, there are some recent studies and meta-analyses (reviews of data from lots of studies) that suggest sat fat may not really be a culprit behind heart disease.

    Personally I avoid artificial trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils, to make them solid at room temperature --there are also small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats in foods), and try not to have more than a third of my fat grams come from saturated fats, which is not what most people would describe as "low" (which might be as little as 10% or even 7% of your calories coming from sat fat -- that's 16 to 22 grams of sat fat on a 2000 calorie a day diet). I don't set a maximum limit on my total fats (other than keeping within calorie goals), and probably average around 30 grams of sat fat, mostly from dairy, but it varies a lot. I have no idea how much I was getting before I started tracking, but my weight, total cholesterol, LDLs, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar have all fallen while I've been eating this way. For your purposes, that's just an anecdote, not data, but for my purposes, it's success, and if it ain't broke, I'm not gonna fix it.

    Best of luck.

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    rudyjr1103 wrote: »
    @lynn_glenmont‌
    Lynn thanks for the info. So what you're saying its okay to eat both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats? However, keep the saturated fats low?

    Polyunsaturated Fats and Monounsaturated Fats are o.k. to eat.
    The fat to limit is Trans Fat. It appears in packaged foods like crackers, snack foods, some fast foods.
    http://www.cspinet.org/transfat/
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    Just avoid hydrogenated and Partially hydrogenated fats.
  • minionman
    minionman Posts: 308 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    To begin with, it's polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.

    They're two different kinds of fat--the unsaturated fats are more prevalent in plant foods, and saturated fats are more prevalent in meat and dairy--but it's not a strict division: there are plant sources of saturated fats, and animal sources of unsaturated fat.

    I'm not sure what you mean by adding them to your diet? Do you mean like a supplement? I've never heard of a supplement for unsaturated fat, and there are so many ways to get them from food, I don't know why anyone would supplement for them.

    Or do you mean is it good to include foods that contain unsaturated fats in your diet? I don't especially want to wade into that, since people hold some pretty strong views on both sides. When dietary consumption of fat and cholesterol was blamed for heart disease and related health problems, saturated fat was viewed as evil and unsaturated fats were seen as good.

    Personally I don't worry about it much; I like to see my saturated fat at no more than one-third of my fat intake (which means the remaining two-thirds would be mono- and polyunsaturated), but I don't get upset if it goes a little higher than that on occasion. I worry more about regularly consuming some good sources of omega-3s (an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid)--such as fatty fish, flax seed, walnuts, chia seeds, canola oil. Omega-3s are less prevalent in the modern American diet than they used to be, in part because of the shift from pastured beef and other animals that consumed more traditional diets, to animals fed (or "finished") mostly on grains, especially corn.

    Thank you, I learn something new everyday!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories