by David Garred,
Club Manager Dusit Resort Sports Club.
Facts about dietary fat
Hi ho, I hope you are all feeling well.
This week we are going to look at our eating habits again. Today’s focus
will be on the fat in food. Now, I would like to go into a touch more depth
than usual. This extra depth is only short lived and does add clarity to the
article so please read on!
There are so many types of fat - saturated, monoun-saturated,
polyunsaturated - how do you know which choices are healthier, if at all and
in what amounts. Oh what to do??
The difference among these fats lies in the chemical makeup: specifically,
the amount of hydrogen content. Saturated fats are solid at room
temperature. Yes they are the ones that are the unsightly white, flat topped
mass that appears after your dinner has cooled completely. Try it as an
experiment sometime, you will be very surprised how much of it there is.
Monounsaturated fat is found in both animal and vegetable fats and falls
between saturated and polyunsaturated fats when it comes to hydrogen
content, as you can imagine from the name. Mono-single, poly-many, saturated
refers to the amount of Hydrogen atoms, unsaturated - some space is
available. So if the fat is saturated then it is full of Hydrogen at the
molecular level. If the fat is Monoun-saturated then at the molecular level
it is saturated except for one bond with Hydrogen. If the fat is
Polyunsaturated then at the molecular level basically it has many bonds
available. Very simply put, a polyunsaturated fat is not full of Hydrogen. I
hope that clears up some curious points you may have had.
Animal fats increase blood levels of LDL (low-density-lipoproteins), a
cholesterol carrier. High levels of LDL have been linked to coronary heart
disease. Recent studies have shown that monounsaturated fats decrease LDL
levels and raise HDL (high density lipoproteins) levels. By having the
ability to differentiate between the two, monounsaturated fats actually
appear to have some health value, provided the total amount of dietary fat
remains below the recommended 30% daily allowance. Canola, olive and peanut
oils are sources of monounsaturated fat.
Diets rich in polyunsaturated fats tend to lower cholesterol levels,
including HDL’s. Soybean, cottonseed, corn, sunflower and safflower oils are
good sources of polyunsaturated fats, and they contain no cholesterol.
Unfortunately, food manufacturers have made things more complicated with the
introduction of partially hydrogenated fats. These fats are created when
food processors add hydrogen atoms to polyunsaturated fats to prevent them
from spoiling or making food feel greasy. The are in essence saturated fats
- the real bad guys.
There are also a few vegetable oils, called tropical oils, which are highly
saturated. These include coconut oil, cocoa butter and palm oil. These oils
are especially common in packaged baked goods, cereal and candy because of
their relatively low cost.
Experts suggest that you balance the three fats in your diet with 10 - 15%
monoun-saturated, 10% poly-unsaturated and less than 10% saturated. These
percentages are of your total daily food intake and please remember to keep
your total fat intake to 30%.
| Fatty acid composition of oils
and fats. |
| Top to bottom is best to worst. |
|
| Oil |
Saturated |
Monounsaturated |
Polyunsaturated |
| Canola oil |
6% |
62% |
32% |
| Safflower oil |
9% |
13% |
78% |
| Sunflower oil |
11% |
20% |
69% |
| Corn oil |
13% |
25% |
62% |
| Olive oil |
14% |
77% |
9% |
| Soybean oil |
15% |
24% |
61% |
| Peanut oil |
18% |
48% |
34% |
| Cottonseed oil |
27% |
19% |
54% |
| Chicken fat |
30% |
47% |
22% |
| Lard |
41% |
47% |
12% |
| Beef fat |
52% |
44% |
4% |
| Butter |
66% |
30% |
4% |
| Palm kernel oil |
86% |
12% |
2% |
| Coconut oil |
92% |
6% |
2% |
Now we all should have a deeper understanding of fat and what is beneficial
to us but the danger is the amount, please remember to keep the total daily
intake down to 30%. Use weight, it is easier than any other method in
“guesstimating” amounts for intake.
All the best with it.
Start it now, Seize the day.
