The big "fat" question

Nutrition and Health Articles Healthfulfilling.com

                                        The Big "Fat" Question

By Para Mehta, RD/Healthfulfilling.com

"I wonder how much fat is in this piece of fried chicken?" Do you sometimes
ask yourself this as you eat--or hear someone else asking it as you eat it?
Fat content in foods is often a high radar item since overweight and obesity
is so prevalent, and for trying to lose or maintain weight and just start eating
healthier. How much fat you take in on a daily basis as well as what type of
fat are key factors in understanding fats. Here are some fat facts to be
equipped with that can also help with healthier eating habits.

What is fat? Fat is one of the six major nutrients--and we do need it! It
helps insulate our bodies and organs, provides satiety (fullness), and helps
with hormone production amongst it's roles.

What are the types of fat? Dietary fats consist of several different types:

Monounsaturated fats- are usually liquid at room temperature, and become
more solid as they are chilled.

Polyunsaturated fats- are usually liquid at room temperature and when chilled.

Saturated fats- are usually solid at room temperature.

Trans fats-are fats that are chemically altered with added hydrogen atoms
which makes them more hydrogenated. Trans fats are also known as
partially hydrogenated fats.

Which fats are the "bad" fats?

Saturated fats are believed to raise blood cholesterol levels. High blood
cholesterol levels are a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Saturated fats are found in fats that are solid at room temperature and
examples include foods from animal sources such as meats (higher fat cuts
of beef, lamb, pork, poultry with skin) cheeses and dairy products made from
whole or 2% milk, butter, lard, beef tallow, and oils such as coconut, palm,
and palm kernel oils.

Trans fats are believed to raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good)
cholesterol.

Trans fats will be found in foods that include partially hydrogenated oil in the
ingredient list, and are often found in fried foods, and baked goods such as
cookies, pastries, ice cream bars and snack foods.

So what fats can I eat?

The American Heart Association recommends that monounsaturated fats
and polyunsaturated fats should be used more than saturated fats and trans
fats.

Polyunsaturated fats cans be found in some types of fatty fish like herring,
mackerel, salmon and trout, and in vegetable oils such as safflower, corn and
soybean oils, and in nuts and seeds such as walnuts and sunflower seeds.

Monounsaturated fats can be found in oils like canola, olive, or peanut,
sunflower and sesame oils and in foods like avocados, peanut butter, and
several types of nuts and seeds.

What should fat intake be limited to on a daily basis to help keep
healthy?

The American Heart Association recommends for healthy Americans over
age 2 that fat intake should not exceed 25-35% of total calories per day.

Saturated fat intake should not exceed 7% of total calories per day, and trans
fat should not exceed 1% of total calories per day.

So here is an example on how to translate this:

If total calories per day eaten is 2000 calories, and you want to keep fat
calories at about 30%, then if you take 30% of 2000 (.30 x 2000), it comes
out to 600 calories from fat, which means that you should not be eating more
than 600 calories from fat on a daily basis.

Saturated fat should be no more than 7% of 2000, (.07 x 2000), which is 140
calories from saturated fat, and trans fat should be no more than 1% of 2000,
(.01 x 2000), which is 20 calories of trans fat per day.

You can figure out fat calories by looking at labels as most labels will list fat
calories per serving next to the calories per serving at the top of the label.

What about counting fat in grams? If you want to count grams of fat,
especially for saturated fat and trans fat since they are listed in grams on
labels, then divide the calories by 9. Taking the calories from the example
above, the limit for saturated fat was 140 calories, so divide it by 9, which
would mean no more than about 15 grams of saturated fat per day.

For trans fat using the above example of 20 calories, that would mean no
more than 2.2 grams of trans fat per day.

The number 9 is used because fat contains 9 calories per gram.

Since trans fat is in many bakery and snack items such as cookies,
pastries and snacks, does that mean no more of those? Unfortunately,
you will have to stop eating or limit many of those items since many brands of
these foods do contain trans fats. Be sure to read the labels and ingredient
sections of those items, and if you see partially hydrogenated oils, or
coconut, palm, palm kernel oil, or beef tallow it will have trans fat and is not a
suitable snack item, especially for regular consumption.

The other option is to be sure to limit those items to no more than 1% of the
total calories you consume in a day. This means you need to really know
your average daily calorie intake. There are snack foods on the market that
do not contain trans fat and are low in fat and saturated fat and can
sometimes be found in the health food or organic section of the grocery
store, but you will need to check those labels as well.

Don't forget that low fat or non fat is not always healthy either- So
when you do find a snack or bakery item that doesn't have the saturated fat
or trans fat, don't forget to check if it made up for with loaded amounts of
sugar or salt. Sometimes when fat is cut, other not so healthy ingredients are
increased.

So what's left to snack on (in the crunchy, "yummy," category)? Not
every snack food has high amounts of saturated fat and trans fat. Check
ingredients, and there are some chips, crackers and snack items that use
liquid polyunsaturated and monounsaturated oils, which can be used. Don't
forget nuts, seeds, dried fruit like raisins and dates can also be snack foods.

Being aware of the difference between the "bad" fats and healthier fats can
make big changes toward a healthier eating lifestyle, since you automatically
know which fats to eat and which ones to stay away from and limit. You are
also getting the added advantage of eating heart healthy and possibly
shedding pounds as well.




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Updated 9/2009