The Good, The Fat, And The Ugly

Fat. We're all fretting about it, talking about it, and most of us are carrying way too much of it in the form of rolls around our midsections and just about everywhere else on our bodies. Scores of magazines and cookbooks are devoted to 'low fat' or 'reduced fat' cooking, and food processors have jumped on the bandwagon with products that are lower in fat. We all know that being overweight and consuming too much fat is bad for us, but just what exactly is it about fat that has us in such an uproar?

Fat is really just a name for a group of compounds that, generally speaking, are insoluble in water (they don't dissolve), but are soluble in organic solvents. From a chemical perspective, all fats are made up of fatty acids (carbon, hydrogen and carboxylic acid) and glycerol. A fat is either saturated or unsaturated depending on how many hydrogen atoms are bonded to the carbon atom. If a carbon atom bonds to two hydrogen atoms, it's a saturated fat. If the carbon atom bonds to just one hydrogen atom, it's an unsaturated fat.

The fats we consume in our diet basically come in two forms, solid and liquid, and they come from either plant sources or animal sources. Things like butter, lard, and fish oils are animal based fats whereas things like margarine, vegetable oils and vegetable shortening come from plants.

Saturated fats are found in meat and other animal products like milk (and therefore butter and cheese) with the exception of skim milk, and palm and coconut oils, which are used extensively in commercial baking. This is the kind of fat that raises your cholesterol and increases your risk of heart disease.

Unsaturated fats are found in foods derived from plants and fish. Foods like olive oil, canola oil, tuna and salmon all contain unsaturated fat.

Trans-fats, which have made the news in recent years because they're so widely used in the fast food and snack industries, is an unsaturated fat. Even though it's an unsaturated fat, eating too much of it can lower your HDL (good) cholesterol and raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol.

For all the attention that's been directed to getting people to adopt eating habits that include less fat, it's important to remember that fat is actually essential to our overall health. It's particularly important for young children, who need fats for proper brain and nervous system development, which is why it is recommended that they drink whole milk which is higher in fat.

Fat also plays a big role in keeping your skin and hair healthy, protecting your internal organs against shock, and maintaining your body temperature. Certain vitamins like A,D and E are fat soluble, which means that they can't be absorbed into the body without the aid of fat.

If you're trying to incorporate less fat into your diet, be sure that you read the label of any foods that could possibly contain fat. That includes snack foods, baked goods, and canned and processed foods. Most medical professionals recommend that you get no more than 30% of your daily calories from fat.

Be aware that products labeled 'low fat', 'light' or reduced fat may not really be good for you. If the fat's been reduced, food processors will often add other ingredients, like sugar or sugar equivalents, to boost the products flavor.

It all boils down to this; be aware of what you put in your mouth. Know what it contains and what it doesn't. Educate yourself.

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