Filippo Berio | Facts on Fats

The rise of heart disease in developed countries has resulted in the oversimplified and incorrect assumption that ‘all fats are bad for you’. This is not the case; fats are an essential part of the diet; moderate intake of the right kinds of fats is important to health.

Fats are made up of fatty acids and glycerol. Each fatty acid consists of a chain of carbon atoms and each carbon atom has a number of attached hydrogen atoms. The number of hydrogen atoms per carbon atom determines whether the fatty acid is saturated or unsaturated.

Saturated fats:

If the fatty acid has all the hydrogen atoms it can hold (2 per carbon atom in the chain) and all the carbon atoms are linked by single bonds, it is described as saturated.

Saturated fats are most often solid or semi-solid at room temperature.

Saturated fats are strongly associated with cholesterol and heart disease.

Sources of saturated fats include:

Lard,
Butter,
Hard cheese,
Animal fats,
Whole milk,
Certain oils (coconut oil)


Monounsaturated fats: If a pair of carbon atoms in the fatty acid is linked by a double bond opposed to a single bond, then the fat is considered monounsaturated. Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Monounsaturated fats protect the heart by lowering cholesterol levels. Olive oil is one of the richest sources of monosaturated fats.

Polyunsaturated fats:

If the fatty acids contain more than one double bond then the fat is considered polyunsaturated.

Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature.

Polyunsaturated fats reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels.

Polyunsaturated fats come from:

Seeds,
Soybean,
Nuts,
Fatty fish.

Trans fats:

Arguably the worst kind of fat, trans fat occurs when monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat is hydrogenated. This process solidifies oil for use in margarine and increases a products’ shelf life. This process causes trans fats to act like saturated fats.

Trans fatty acids are not essential and add no nutritional value.

Foods that contain trans fats include:

Cakes,
Biscuits,
Most chocolate,
Fast food.

Cholesterol:

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is made by the liver. It forms part of every cell in the body. Our bodies need cholesterol to:

Maintain healthy cell walls,
Make hormones,
Make vitamin D,
Make bile acids

When the body makes more cholesterol than needed it is circulated in the bloodstream. This can lead to clogged blood vessels and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

The body makes too much cholesterol when too much saturated fat is consumed.

In addition to the cholesterol the body makes, a small percentage of cholesterol is obtained from the foods we eat, such as meat, eggs and dairy products. Only animal-based foods contain cholesterol. Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains do not contain cholesterol.

There are different types of cholesterol:

Low-density lipoprotein (or LDL) cholesterol is a bad type of cholesterol that is most likely to clog blood vessels, increasing your risk for heart disease.
High-density lipoprotein (or HDL) cholesterol is a good type of cholesterol. HDL cholesterol helps clear the LDL cholesterol out of the blood and reduces your risk for heart disease.

Although polyunsaturated fats lower cholesterol in the body, they lower both the LDL and HDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, lower LDL cholesterol but have no effect on HDL cholesterol, thereby insuring that the right type of cholesterol is lowered and the ratio between LDL and HDL cholesterol is improved.