Good and Bad Fats….Confused?

11/04/2010 by admin.

“How can there be good fats?”  I hear you say.  Well, it’s true, some fats are beneficial.   Good fats are found in seeds, nuts , avocados and fish oils predominantly.  Good fats help to keep our cholesterol levels down and also help towards healthy arteries.

The best fat is monounsaturated fat which is contained nuts, canola and olive oil. 

Saturated fats are bad fats.  These are solid at room temperature such as butter and cheese.  They are also found in meat products, especially red meat.  These fats raise your levels of bad cholesterol and can therefore increase your risk of having a heart attack.   But there is a type of fat that is even worse than saturated fat.

The worst type of fats are ‘trans fats’.  These are a bi-product of hydrogenation, ie the process by which fats are saturated.  Trans-fats raise your bad cholesterol levels and lower your good cholesterol level so have a more detrimental impact on your health.  Trans fats are found in packaged food.

When selecting packaged items, check the nutritional label under the ‘per 100g’ column.  Look under the fat column to see the percentage of the food that is fat.  The fat column will also indicate saturated fat.  Ideally this column should be 10g per 100g or less.  Hot spot words to avoid are ‘trans fat’ and ‘hydrogenated’.

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