Fats, also known as lipids, come in many forms. Because lipids are high in calories and have been linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity, and weight gain - they've gotten a bad reputation.
However, consuming too little of the "good" fats is harmful, counter-productive, and even linked to weight gain! Here's the low-down on lipids.
The good fats are poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated.
The bad fats are saturated, and hydrogenated.
Hormones need fats for transport, these hormones include: reproductive, calming, and nerve transmission hormones, as well as others.
Leptin is a hormone that is released from fats, which give you a feeling that you've had enough, you're not hungry. It is in opposition to another hormone your body produces, called grehlin, which tells you you're hungry.
Supple, younger-looking skin needs fats.
Our bodies will burn carbohydrates as a first choice when they are present in the blood stream. When fats are present, our bodies will burn fat also - so for weight loss we need small amounts of good fats every time we eat.
Good fats will grab onto and wrangle out most bad fats in the blood stream.
Nerve cells need good cholesterol from good fats for their myelin sheathing. Without proper myelin sheathing, we have nerve damage and can't function properly, manifest at times similar to Multiple Sclerosis.
Cell structure compounds come from good fats, particularly in the brain and nervous system.
Lipids provide structgure, regulation, and energy.
An essential fatty acid (ones the body can't make itself) deficiency manifests with symptoms like scaly and dry skin, liver abnormalities, impaired vision and hearing, poor wound healing, poor absorption of fat soluable vitamins, and growth failure in infants.
Saturated fatty acids are saturated with hydrogens on all the carbons in the chain. These fats are usually solid at room temperature, such as margarine, butter, and shortening. Usually these are more in meat and dairy products, as well as palm oil, palm kernal oil, and coconut oil.
Unsaturated fatty acids contain some carbons that are not saturated with hydrogens. They tend to be liquid oils at room temperature. The two best unsaturated fatty acids are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, most commonly found in corn, safflower, and soybean oil.
Hydrogenated (changed by processing to be very solid and stable) and trans-fatty acids are quite bad - and they are already in storage form so our bodies like to put them into little fat storage cells right away.
The best lipids for our health and for low-fat weight control are polyunsaturated and then monounsaturated. Avoid saturated fats. From best to worst, here's a good guide for picking your fats: flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, olive oil, and peanut oil.
Although many health organizations recommend 20 to 35% fat in diets - I recommend a diet of 10 to 20% of poly and mono-unsaturated fats. -- So, if you are a semi-active female at 5'6" tall with an ideal weight of 125 lbs., your weight loss calorie amount of about 1400 calories daily would net 140 to 280 of those calories coming from good fats. To maintain that weight you would consume about 1600 to 1700 calories daily, so that makes the good fat amount at 160 to 320 calories daily. During hot summers, stick more to the 10% range, and in cold winters go more for the 20% range, and you should achieve your best health, weight, and hunger balance.
Remember - good fats don't make you fat - too many calories and/or too many bad fats do!
However, consuming too little of the "good" fats is harmful, counter-productive, and even linked to weight gain! Here's the low-down on lipids.
The good fats are poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated.
The bad fats are saturated, and hydrogenated.
Hormones need fats for transport, these hormones include: reproductive, calming, and nerve transmission hormones, as well as others.
Leptin is a hormone that is released from fats, which give you a feeling that you've had enough, you're not hungry. It is in opposition to another hormone your body produces, called grehlin, which tells you you're hungry.
Supple, younger-looking skin needs fats.
Our bodies will burn carbohydrates as a first choice when they are present in the blood stream. When fats are present, our bodies will burn fat also - so for weight loss we need small amounts of good fats every time we eat.
Good fats will grab onto and wrangle out most bad fats in the blood stream.
Nerve cells need good cholesterol from good fats for their myelin sheathing. Without proper myelin sheathing, we have nerve damage and can't function properly, manifest at times similar to Multiple Sclerosis.
Cell structure compounds come from good fats, particularly in the brain and nervous system.
Lipids provide structgure, regulation, and energy.
An essential fatty acid (ones the body can't make itself) deficiency manifests with symptoms like scaly and dry skin, liver abnormalities, impaired vision and hearing, poor wound healing, poor absorption of fat soluable vitamins, and growth failure in infants.
Saturated fatty acids are saturated with hydrogens on all the carbons in the chain. These fats are usually solid at room temperature, such as margarine, butter, and shortening. Usually these are more in meat and dairy products, as well as palm oil, palm kernal oil, and coconut oil.
Unsaturated fatty acids contain some carbons that are not saturated with hydrogens. They tend to be liquid oils at room temperature. The two best unsaturated fatty acids are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, most commonly found in corn, safflower, and soybean oil.
Hydrogenated (changed by processing to be very solid and stable) and trans-fatty acids are quite bad - and they are already in storage form so our bodies like to put them into little fat storage cells right away.
The best lipids for our health and for low-fat weight control are polyunsaturated and then monounsaturated. Avoid saturated fats. From best to worst, here's a good guide for picking your fats: flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, olive oil, and peanut oil.
Although many health organizations recommend 20 to 35% fat in diets - I recommend a diet of 10 to 20% of poly and mono-unsaturated fats. -- So, if you are a semi-active female at 5'6" tall with an ideal weight of 125 lbs., your weight loss calorie amount of about 1400 calories daily would net 140 to 280 of those calories coming from good fats. To maintain that weight you would consume about 1600 to 1700 calories daily, so that makes the good fat amount at 160 to 320 calories daily. During hot summers, stick more to the 10% range, and in cold winters go more for the 20% range, and you should achieve your best health, weight, and hunger balance.
Remember - good fats don't make you fat - too many calories and/or too many bad fats do!
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