Good/Bad Fats

By: Roz Burnham, C.N.

All fat foods supply 9 calories per gram.

Fats are found in meat, fish, dairy products, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.

Fat is a critical nutrient used to form cell membranes especially nerve and brain cells.  Your brain is made of 60% fat.  Fat is also needed to absorb the fat soluble vitamins of A-D-E-K which are essential to your skin, eyes, brain, hormones and cells.

Fats may be called good or bad depending upon their source and the cooking methods used.

GOOD FATS

Good fats supply the essential fatty acids which cannot be manufactured by the body but which are essential to good health. Good fats provide vital lubricants to the joints and tissues, are anti-inflammatory, and soothe the nervous system.

Good fat sources include: extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed organic oils from nuts and seeds, fresh avocado, fresh nuts and seeds, cold water fish and fish oils from wild salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, trout, and other fatty fish, flax seed oil, pumpkin seed oil  and sesame seed oil.

You need 2 tablespoons of good fats in your diet each day.  If you do not eat these foods, a dietary fish oil supplement will supply your needs for these essential fats.

BAD FATS

Bad fats include:  heated vegetable oils (corn, canola, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed oil) used to deep fry foods, partially hydrogenated fats (trans-fats), and saturated meat fats. All fried and deep fried foods using these bad fats are extremely toxic and are quickly stored in the body’s fat cells.  Fast foods are especially very high in these toxic bad fats!

The American diet is too high in fried foods and saturated fats which have been proved to contribute to all diseases of inflammation (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis)