When people discuss fats and diets, they often talk about good fats and bad fats. Unfortunately, food labels never use those terms. Food labels contain words like saturated and polyunsaturated, which makes it difficult for most people to know which type is good or bad.
For those who have always wanted to know the difference, here is a brief guide to three types of fat saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat.
Saturated Fat
In chemical terms, saturated fat is made up of fatty acids that do not have a double bond between the carbon atoms, allowing the fatty acid chain to be saturated with hydrogen atoms. In layman s terms, saturated fats are the ones that stay solid at room temperature. This includes lard, tallow, coconut oil and cow butter.
Saturated fats are bad fats. They raise your bad cholesterol level, which then raises your total cholesterol level. Diets high in saturated fat are also associated with atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
Monounsaturated Fat
Monounsaturated fat has one double bond in the fatty acid chain, which eliminates some of the hydrogen atoms. Monounsaturated fats have a lower melting temperature than saturated fats, so they do not stay solid at room temperature. These fats are found in grapeseed oil, peanut oil, olive oil, nuts and avocados.
Monounsaturated fats are good fats. They lower bad cholesterol without lowering your levels of good cholesterol. In addition, monounsaturated fats help protect against cardiovascular disease.
Polyunsaturated Fat
Poly means more than one, so polyunsaturated fats are those with more than one double bond in the fatty acid chain. Polyunsaturated fats are the kind that can stay liquid even at lower temperatures, such as corn oil and sunflower oil. These fats are also found in grain products, soybeans, fish, fish oil, and safflower oil.
Polyunsaturated fats are also considered good fats. They lower cholesterol, as well as helping prevent cardiovascular disease by lowering the amount of fat in the blood. Polyunsaturated fats also protect against insulin resistance.
Fats In Your Diet
All three types of fat are found naturally in most foods, and they are essential to your health. Fats provide energy, and certain types of vitamins and minerals can only be processed by your body when fat is present. As a result, trying to eliminate fats from your diet can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Although you cannot eliminate fats from your diet, you should make sure you consume them in moderation. Diets that are high in saturated fats can increase the risk of high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease.
Diets high in polyunsaturated fats can cause allergies and inflammation, and they have been linked to certain types of cancer in animal studies. Of course, high levels of monounsaturated fats can also lead to insulin resistance.
Most experts recommend no more than 10% of your daily calories come from saturated fats, with up to 10% from polyunsaturated fats and up to 15% from monounsaturated fats. Reading food labels, as well as keeping track of what you eat, is the best way to ensure that you keep your dietary fats to a healthy level.
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