Good Fats and Bad Fats

Welcome The Good Fats And Chuck the Bad Fats For A Healthy and Fit Body

When you are walking down a busy street, stop for a moment, step aside, and look at the people around you. Now count 10 people walking down any one side and single out the obese among the list. What is the count? Did you say five? You are in a majority. Every time you do this exercise, the count will not be less than four. Globally, there are over one billion overweight adults by conservative estimates. Out of these, at least 300 million are obese. The key causes are reduced physical activity and increase in consumption of junk foods that are high in their content of saturated fats and sugars.

We all love fast food. Not for their taste but for the convenience that they offer. But soon one realizes that in the name of convenience we are sacrificing our good health, every time we walk into one of those fast food joints. They are rich in saturated fats and trans fats, which are labeled by nutritionists as bad fats. Trans fats are created when processed vegetable oils are hydrogenated. The liquid oil solidifies in the process. They are used to stretch food life but ends up playing havoc on the lives of those who consume them. Most of your favorite food items unfortunately have an abundance of trans fats in them.

• The Damages One Pays For Trans Fat Consumption

Candies, cakes, pies, cookies, fatty meat, salad dressings, fried food, etc. is a long list of mouth-watering foodstuff. However, they are all sources of trans fats. They are the primary causative factors of clogged arteries and obesity. They are the underlying cause of heart diseases and diabetes. They can also cause immune dysfunction and reproductive problems. They are the reason for rise in Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or bad fats in the body.

Saturated fats are mainly found in meats and in butter, cheese, cream, and full fat dairy products. They are also found in tropical palm and coconut oils. They were created by the vegetable oil industry in the 30s and the 40s to stabilize products that were shipped over long distances. The sudden and significant increase in cases of ischaemic heart diseases and cancer alerted the medical profession to the dangers of consuming saturated fats. In small amounts they add flavor to the food. Long-term consumption can cause clogging of blood vessels and cardio-vascular problems. The use of saturated oils continues unabated despite overwhelming evidences to the contrary.

• Our Body Needs Fats - But The Good Ones

However, not all fats are bad. In fact, the human body needs certain types of fats to be present in their system to fight against these bad fats. Monounsaturated fats are good fats that help in protecting the heart by lowering LDL (bad fats) and raising HDL (good fats). Consume olives, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, and pumpkin if you want to increase the content of good fats in your body. Polyunsaturated oils are source of essential fatty acids. Found in nuts, fish, leafy greens, and seeds, they are best consumed in their whole form as processing and heating can render them harmful to the human body by production of free radicals.

Omega3 with EPA and DHA are the best among the good fats needed by the body. They offer tremendous health benefits like lowering risk of heart diseases, Type2 diabetes, arthritis, depression, and even some type of cancer. Fish is the main source of Omega3.

So next time you stand aside in a busy street and start the count, have a close look at yourself too. You will be able to judge instantly if you are a carrier of good fat or bad fat and take the necessary corrective actions.