Types Of Dietary Fat

The World of Dietary Fat

Though fats can get a bad rap, the fact is that fats are an essential part of everyone’s diet. They can lubricate your joints, help regulate your cholesterol, and boost your immune system. The trick is to know exactly which fats are good for you and which aren’t. Fortunately, everyone who eats a raw food diet doesn’t have to worry much about avoiding the worst kinds of fats, because they are typically found in foods that aren’t raw food. Nonetheless, it’s important to understand the world of dietary fat and it affects you.

Trans Fats

Trans fat is an artificially created kind of fat. It is made by adding an extra hydrogen atom to plant oils, and it was first made commercially available in 1911. Trans fats generally are bad things. They have been shown to increase levels of “bad” cholesterol, while simultaneously decreasing levels of “good” cholesterol.

There is even some evidence to suggest that high amounts of trans fats increase the likelihood of acquiring diabetes. Trans fats are so bad, that some cities and communities have decided that it is a public health issue and have moved towards banning the substance outright. Fortunately people on a raw food diet have very little risk of ever encountering this kind of fat.

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat isn’t as bad for you, but it’s still not very good for you. Like trans fats, saturated fats have been shown to cause heart problems in people who consume too much of them. Since fatty foods usually high in calories, a lot of saturated fat can also lead to unhealthy levels of weight gain.

Since the primary sources of saturated fat are animal products, raw foodies are very unlikely to encounter them. There are some vegetarian sources of saturated fat, such as coconut, but very small amounts are unlikely to do any amount of harm.

Monounsaturated Fat

Monounsaturated fats one of the “good” fats. There is some evidence to suggest that a diet with sufficient monounsaturated fat can help improve your heart health. As a bonus, they are full of antioxidants and vitamin E, which has powerful anti aging capabilities. This kind of fat can be found in avocados, olives, and many kinds of seeds and nuts.

Polyunsaturated Fats

Polyunsaturated fats also have a great deal of health benefits. Studies have shown that eating foods rich in polyunsaturated fats can assist brain development, reduce muscle inflammation, and have a lot of the same heart health benefits as monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats can be found in bananas and certain kinds of seeds.

So if fats can be good for you, and in fat is an essential part of your diet, why are they so vilified by diet books? Mostly this is because a gram of fat has a lot more calories than a gram the other macronutrients: protein and carbohydrates.

So foods that are also high in calories, which can lead to rapid weight gain. But if you know what fats you eat, and avoid the most damaging ones, you can include a great deal of you fat in your diet with no bad health side effects.

About the author

Christopher W. McCombs is a Aliso Viejo Weight Loss expert. Chris is also a Personal Training Selling expert and helps fitness trainers all over the globe to triple their income while reducing their overall work hours.

For more information about trans fat visit Transfatspotting.com

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