By Pamela Fung
Fats can be harmful to the body too much may increase your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and cause coronary diseases. However there are good fats ! Yes, good/ healthy/ essential fats !
Your body needs fat, it uses it for energy. If you have looked at the labels of some food items you may have noticed some words such as unsaturated fats, monounsaturated ,polyunsaturated, saturated, trans fat or hydrogenated fats and omega-3 fatty acids.
Not sure if you readers have noticed but there are some food items now that state in bold ” NO TRANS FATS” or ” LOW IN SATURATED FATS” , but do you ever ask yourself what exactly does that mean? Well I’m going to break them down for you.
First we’ll start with
1.Saturated Fats : These fats are solid in room temperature and derive from animals such as : meat, dairy and eggs, however some may be plant based such as coconut oil. These fats raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
2. Trans fat or Hydrogenated Fats: These are unsaturated fats that can raise your total LDL and lower your HDL (good) cholesterol. These fats can be found in processed foods items such as cookies, cakes, fries, donuts and many more.
3. Unsaturated Fats are divided into two: these fats are healthy fats. They are liquid in room temperature and solidify when in cold temperature. They derive from vegetable and plants.
* Monounsaturated Fats: are found in olives, nuts, peanut oil, canola oil and avocados. hey lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol and maintain your HDL (good) cholesterol.
*Polyunsaturated Fats: are found in safflower, sesame, corn and soybean. They reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol, however too much can lower your HDL (good) cholesterol
4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: These are the fats that are essential to your diet. They include cold-water fish, flaxseed, soy and walnuts. These fats help reduce coronary disease and boost the immune system.
Fats are essential to the body, you should never try to eliminate them completely, instead learn to eat the right ones and live your healthy lifestyle 🙂
***Little Advice : stick to liquid fats instead of solid
EllaThought 