Day Sixty-Six: The Skinny On Fat

You go to a McDonalds and order french fries. You look across the metallic kitchen as you see a teenager lift up a basket out of dripping grease, fling the strips of potatoes into a bin, add salt, and then scoop them up into a container to be served to you so that you can put them into your body.

Not good.

Fat gets a bad rap...but there are a lot of misconceptions out there. Fats in our diet are vital for the functioning of our nervous system. The protective sheath that surrounds nerves is comprised mainly of fat. These nerves run in the entire body, beginning with the brain and spinal cord. This sheath that surrounds the nerve helps with the speed by which the nerve conducts its signals.  Fats constitute the cell membrane of almost every cell in the human body. It helps to provide a semi-permeable barrier around each cell.  Fat intake is vital during development, and momma's milk for a young babe is very high in fat for this reason. The rich, creamy hindmilk is just what a baby needs along with the other amazing ingredients that breast milk provides.

So, if fats are important, then why aren't those french fries good for you?

Saturated fats are most often animal fats. Because of their structure, they are harder on our bodies. They are often solid at room temperature and feel fatty in our mouth when we eat them. Examples include fatty meats, butter, and lard. Some vegetable oils are also high in saturated fats. Too much saturated fat in the diet puts us at risk for heart disease, can clog our arteries, and raises our LDL levels ("bad" cholesterol).

Trans fats or Hydrogenated fats are commonly used to extend shelf life of processed foods. They got their name by the chemical process that they undergo where hydrogen is added to an unsaturated fatty acid to make it into a more solid and saturated form. They can raise LDL levels, and are found in items such as cookies, crackers, onion rings, french fries, cakes, and doughnuts. They are sometimes used in spreads. If you read labels of processed foods carefully, these often come up as, "Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil".  They are also not good for us.

Unsaturated fats are most often found in plants. Unsaturated fats raise our HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels. They come in several different forms, one of which is "Omega-3 Fatty Acids".  Winter squash, walnuts, soy beans, avocados, and navy beans are all great sources. Fish such as salmon, tuna, and halibut are also good sources of Omega 3s. While there is not a formal Recommended Daily Allowance for these fats, many experts have come to agree that about 20-30% of our calories in a day should come from unsaturated fats....depending on stage of development, age, current health, and total caloric intake. This translates to about 40-55 or so grams of fat for a healthy adult. The average avocado has about 30 grams of fat, so one can see that it isn't hard to get in our fat intake.

I challenge you to think about your fat intake and the sources it comes from in your diet. I challenge you to make adjustments where necessary.