id at room temperature and include olive oil, avocados, almonds and cashews. The next time you dip your bread in olive oil at an Italian restaurant, you’re getting mostly monounsaturated fat.
- Polyunsaturated fats (PUFA’s)– These are essential fat acids (EFA’s)
These are called essential because your body cannot make them itself or work without them. These EFA’s are needed for brain development, blood clotting and controlling inflammation and much more. This type of unsaturated fat contains two or more – poly – double bonds in their structure. They can be liquid at room temperature. Polyunsaturated fats are found in oily fish, nuts and seeds.
There are two main types of polyunsaturated fats:
- Omega-3 fatty acids – Key family of polyunsaturated
There are 3 main types of Omega 3 fatty acids:
- Alpha Linolenic acid (ALA)– Not the most important omega 3, but it is the most common omega-3 fatty acid in most Western diets. It is found in seeds, nut and plant sources such as flaxseed, chia, hemp, walnuts, leafy vegetables, and some animal fat, especially in grass-fed animals.
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
EPA & DHA– Most important and useful essential omega 3 fatty acids. These mainly come from fish, so they are sometimes called marine omega-3s. Examples include salmon, mackerel, sardines, and algae oils. Health Canada recommends at least two servings of non-fried fish per week.
2. Omega-6 fatty acids– Linolenic acid (LA) – found in many plant oils, including palm oil, sunflower oil, flaxseed oil, corn oil and evening primrose oil. Most diets provide adequate amounts of this fatty acid, and therefore planning is rarely required to ensure proper amounts of omega-6 fatty acids.
These unsaturated fatty acids are important to keep your body working like a well-oiled machine. But don’t go overboard. All fats, including MUFA’s and PUFA’s are high in calories, so use them only in moderation. Consume MUFA and PUFA rich foods instead of other saturated fatty foods, not in addition to them.
Fun Fat Fact – there are no fat cells in your eyelids or parts of the esophagus. ?
B) Bad fats – Saturated Fat and Trans Fat
These are considered unhealthy fats due to their chemical structure. They are common in the American diet. Trans fats are similar in structure to saturated fats. Too much of these two fats can increase the amount of bad cholesterol (LDL) – in our blood. This can lead to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and much more. Trans fats may also raise blood triglycerides and lower our good cholesterol (HDL).
- Saturated Fat
These are simply fat molecules that have no double bonds because they are saturated with hydrogen molecules. Saturated fats (butter or cooled bacon grease) tend to be solid at room temperature. Common sources include red meat, whole-milk dairy foods, cheese, and coconut oil. Currently the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that between 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories should consist of fat and less than 5 to 6 percent of that fat should be from saturated fat with the rest being polyunsaturated fats.
- Trans Fat
These are naturally occurring trans fats and artificial trans fats. Small traces of natural trans fats are produced in animals guts and in turn tiny amounts turn up in foods they create. But according to AHA, we don’t have enough research to determine the impact these types of natural trans fats have on our health. Several review studies have concluded that a moderate intake of naturally occurring ruminant trans fats does not appear to be harmful. [6,7,8]
Artificial trans fats – These are the worst type of dietary fat!
While they’re actually unsaturated fats, their chemical structure is changed by a man- made process called hydrogenation, in which hydrogen molecules are added to the unsaturated oil to change them into a solid saturated fat called partially hydrogenated oils (PHO’s). This was done to try and synthesize a cheap, stable, easy to use, long shelf-life and tasty oil – The result was the birth of “The Frankenstein’s monster of fats” – artificial trans