There is an expression in sports that goes "It ain't over til the fat lady sings". I strongly believe that the people who use that expression including myself are not intentionally disrespecting a great female singer. But in today's society of "politically correct" one must be careful. More than 50% of the American population is now considered overweight. Over 30% is considered obese. When we hear numbers like that most of us start thinking about dieting. To most of us, dieting means cutting back on all those tasty foods which are loaded with fat.
Unfortunately, no fat is not a healthy diet. That's correct, not a healthy diet. In fact, some fats are a necessary part of the human diet and certain fatty acids are not or cannot be easily synthesized by our bodies.
A very large number of pages have been written on fat types and diet considerations. Let me try to simplify it a little from the viewpoint of a male and an engineer.
Basic Assumption:
Any diet should not contain more than 30% fat of any type.
If you are serious about losing weight, then you should aim for 25% or lower.
Fat facts:
the total number of fat cells in your body does not increase after puberty, they just get larger.
one gram of fat contains about 9 calories, carbohydrates and proteins about 4 calories per gram.
most dieters are aiming at around 1800 calories. There many calorie calculators on the web, I favor the one at the mayo clinic site. Using this calculator you input your age, height weight and sex; the next screen asks you to select an activity level, then you are given your estimated daily calorie needs per day, usually in the range of 1500 to 2700.
only 3% of the calories in fat are expended to convert fat into energy or storage.
25% of the calories in carbohydrates and protein are expended to convert them into energy or storage. Remember not all carbohydrates are created equal...
muscle weighs about 23% more than fat.
Tangent:
In a valiant attempt to complicate the issue, our food industry introduced hydrogenated fats years ago, which are simply unsaturated fats with extra hydrogen atoms added which in effect makes them saturated fats. Because these fats have been chemically altered they tend to be difficult for our body to process. They are not useful from a nutrition point of view. Best totally avoided. Example - margarine.
OK, let's discuss the two types of fat:
1. saturated fatty acids.
2. unsaturated fatty acids.
Saturated Fatty Acids:
Recommendation - minimize the amount of saturated fat in your diet.
How to recognize - saturated fats are usually solid or semi-solid at room temperature.
Examples of saturated fat - all animal fats (beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry), dairy products (butter, milk, cream, cheese etc.), margarine, bakery products, coconut oil and junk food like potato chips.
Pros calorie source
Cons - unhealthy calories, in excess it raises LDL cholesterol levels (the bad cholesterol) leads to heart disease.
Unsaturated Fatty Acids:
There are two types - monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Monounsaturated Fatty Acids:
Recommendation - Overall fat content should be limited to 25 - 30%. MFA are necessary but not in excess.
How to recognize - monounsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature.
Recommendation - Overall fat content should be limited to 25 - 30%. PFA are necessary but not in excess.
There are two types - Omega-3 and Omega-6
Pros - source of linoleic acid - linoleic acid deficiency leads to weakness, blurred vision and bad skin.
Cons - can spoil or go bad at room temperature, too much will result in weight gain, too much may cause cancer and lower the HDL level (the good cholesterol lowering this is bad)
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
How to recognize - liquid at room temperature, unstable and can go bad.
How to recognize - liquid at room temperature, unstable and can go bad.
Examples of omega-6 fatty acids - palm, soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower oil, poultry, eggs, whole grain bread, baked goods and nuts.
To understand better how to achieve a healthy balanced diet which will help you enjoy a better quality of life, please visit our blog at http://thehealthjerk.blogspot.com
Mike Anderson lives in Roswell Georgia. Although originally Canadian, he and his family moved to Georgia 23 years ago choosing to be too hot in the summer over too cold in the winter. Princeton University graciously allowed Mike to complete his formal eduction in the discipline of Chemical Engineering. All of his business life, Mike has been involved in marketing in one form or another. Since 2002, with health issues limiting his activities, Mike focused on computer based businesses that he could operate from his home office. Happily, the health issues are disappearing. The scope of Mike's activity is best reviewed on is main website at http://rbm3.com/wma/home.php
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