BY AYOUB OUBARKA
What we think of as "fat" is actually a substance made up of smaller fatty acids. Some of these acids are good for you, and some are bad. Some promote heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke. Some prevent these problems. Some are more likely to be stored immediately as body fat, others are likely to be readily burned as fuel. Unfortunately, the typical American diet is loaded with the wrong kinds of fat. Now, these fats are broken up into a few groups. Essentially you have saturated and unsaturated fats.
Saturated Fats are bad for you. They are found mostly in beef, milk, cheese, deli meats, butter, and some tropical oils. Saturated fats increase your risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, and obesity. Avoid or minimize saturated fat intake. Try to eat low-fat meats like chicken and turkey without the skin, and reduced-fat dairy products. If you're eating red mean, get the lowest-fat, leanest meat you can.
Trans Fats are saturated fats that are extremely bad for you. You should completely eliminate all foods with trans fats in them from your diet. These types of unnatural fats are created during food manufacturing processes such as the hydrogenation of vegetable oil. They are usually found in pastries, buns, chips, doughnuts, shortening, and other such foods. If the label says "trans fat" put that product back on the shelf. If the ingredients of any product say "partially hydrogenated" anywhere on it - put it back. One example: margarine! It's evil. It's loaded with trans-fatty acids. Avoid it at all costs. Also avoid vegetable shortening, commercial pasties, deep-fried food, and most prepared snacks, mixes, and convenience foods.
Studies have shown that saturated and trans fats are actually addictive and make you want to eat more. They have also been linked to all kinds of health problems from cancer and heart disease to diabetes.
Unsaturated Fats, on the other hand, are generally good for you. These types of fats are usually found in nuts, seeds, fish, and grains. Mono-unsaturated fats, such as the types found in olive and canola oil, will actually protect your cardiovascular system from disease. These are the types of fats we're going to load into our diet.
• Good fats: almonds, avocado, cashews, flax oil, olive oil, olives, peanut butter,
peanuts, fresh fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna)
• Bad fats: butter, coconut, corn oil, cream cheese, half-and-half, lard,
mayonnaise, shortening, sour cream
Keep in mind that you need fats in your diet, but even the good fats listed above have a good amount of calories in them - so take it easy! A tablespoon of olive oil, for example, as 100 calories. Almonds (which I love to snack on) have 6 calories a piece. Nuts are a great, healthy-fat snack - but just make sure to take a small handful not the whole bag!
We have a more comprehensive listing of good and bad fats available on our Web site at
RicksWeightLoss.com.
Do not deprive us of the beautiful comments.
What we think of as "fat" is actually a substance made up of smaller fatty acids. Some of these acids are good for you, and some are bad. Some promote heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke. Some prevent these problems. Some are more likely to be stored immediately as body fat, others are likely to be readily burned as fuel. Unfortunately, the typical American diet is loaded with the wrong kinds of fat. Now, these fats are broken up into a few groups. Essentially you have saturated and unsaturated fats.
Saturated Fats are bad for you. They are found mostly in beef, milk, cheese, deli meats, butter, and some tropical oils. Saturated fats increase your risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, and obesity. Avoid or minimize saturated fat intake. Try to eat low-fat meats like chicken and turkey without the skin, and reduced-fat dairy products. If you're eating red mean, get the lowest-fat, leanest meat you can.
Trans Fats are saturated fats that are extremely bad for you. You should completely eliminate all foods with trans fats in them from your diet. These types of unnatural fats are created during food manufacturing processes such as the hydrogenation of vegetable oil. They are usually found in pastries, buns, chips, doughnuts, shortening, and other such foods. If the label says "trans fat" put that product back on the shelf. If the ingredients of any product say "partially hydrogenated" anywhere on it - put it back. One example: margarine! It's evil. It's loaded with trans-fatty acids. Avoid it at all costs. Also avoid vegetable shortening, commercial pasties, deep-fried food, and most prepared snacks, mixes, and convenience foods.
Studies have shown that saturated and trans fats are actually addictive and make you want to eat more. They have also been linked to all kinds of health problems from cancer and heart disease to diabetes.
Unsaturated Fats, on the other hand, are generally good for you. These types of fats are usually found in nuts, seeds, fish, and grains. Mono-unsaturated fats, such as the types found in olive and canola oil, will actually protect your cardiovascular system from disease. These are the types of fats we're going to load into our diet.
• Good fats: almonds, avocado, cashews, flax oil, olive oil, olives, peanut butter,
peanuts, fresh fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna)
• Bad fats: butter, coconut, corn oil, cream cheese, half-and-half, lard,
mayonnaise, shortening, sour cream
Keep in mind that you need fats in your diet, but even the good fats listed above have a good amount of calories in them - so take it easy! A tablespoon of olive oil, for example, as 100 calories. Almonds (which I love to snack on) have 6 calories a piece. Nuts are a great, healthy-fat snack - but just make sure to take a small handful not the whole bag!
We have a more comprehensive listing of good and bad fats available on our Web site at
RicksWeightLoss.com.
Do not deprive us of the beautiful comments.
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