Face the Facts
What are bad fats? Bad fats are saturated fat and trans- fat. Saturated fat have chemical makeup in which the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen atoms. Saturated fats occur naturally in many foods. The majority come mainly from animal sources, including meat and dairy products. Examples are fatty beef, lamb, pork, poultry with skin, beef fat (tallow), lard and cream, butter, cheese and other dairy products made from whole or reduced-fat (2 percent) milk. These foods also contain dietary cholesterol. In addition, many baked goods and fried foods can contain high levels of saturated fats. Some plant foods, such as palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil, also contain primarily saturated fats, but do not contain cholesterol. Trans- fats (or trans- fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Another name for trans- fats is “partially hydrogenated oils." Look for them on the ingredient list on food packages. Trans- fats raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating trans- fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. It’s also associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The better fats are unsaturated fats called monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, and the best sources are fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, or sardines, or high-quality cold-water fish oil supplements. Canned albacore tuna and lake trout can also be good sources, depending on how the fish were raised and processed.
The functions of fiber and lipids in the body is fiber