Knowing About Fat Types Makes Decisions Easier

Many people are still trying to eliminate all obvious sources of fat from their diets, while others are asking: Who cares?

Figuring out how much fat to include in your diet can be difficult - not to mention how much of that fat should be saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and Omega-3. And what about those trans fats?

Even dietitians can become a little confused. Knowing the different types and sources of fat can help you make better decisions about a more healthful fat intake.

Our bodies need what are called essential fats to function properly. Unlike body fat, our bodies cannot produce essential fats; we must get them from our food. They maintain proper functioning of the thyroid and adrenal glands, boost immunity to disease and promote healthy blood, skin, hair, nerves and arteries.

People trying to eat entirely fat-free can lower their intake of fats - especially essential fats - too much. Most health agencies recommend consuming between 20 and 30 percent of calories as fat. For a 1,500-calorie diet, for example, that means around 400 calories from fat. Since each fat gram has nine calories, that’s about 45 grams of fat per day.

You want to get those 45 grams from a mixture of the three main types of fat: saturated (the least desirable), monosaturated and polyunsaturated. A fourth type of fat, trans-fatty acids, is man-made and even less desirable than saturated fat.

Saturated fat tends to remain solid at room temperature. It’s found primarily in animal food sources such as meat, poultry, butter, milk and egg yolks. Two plant fats, coconut oil and palm oil, are also primarily made up of saturated fat (although some saturated fat occurs in all oils).

The body needs some saturated fat to function properly. The main reason we are told to decrease our consumption of saturated fat is that it has been shown to raise both good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Monounsaturated fats are considered to be healthful fats because of their ability to lower bad cholesterol and maintain or raise good cholesterol. Sources include olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, avocados, peanut butter and almonds.

Essential fatty acids are concentrated in polyunsaturated fats and Omega-3 fats. Sources of polyunsaturated fats include safflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, tofu, sunflower oil and most nuts and seeds. Omega-3 fats can be found in canola oil, fish (including salmon, sardines, lake trout and herring), walnuts, walnut oil and flaxseed oil.

Polyunsaturated fats are plentiful in most Americans’ diets and provide most of the necessary essential fats. But polyunsaturated oils tend to reduce both good and bad cholesterol - which is why monounsaturated oils are preferred for people with high cholesterol.

And much of the polyunsaturated oils that the average American consumes have been at least partially hydrogenated, turning them into what are called trans fats. That restructures the fat molecule to make it more solid and shelf-stable - ideal for food manufacturers, but not for your body. Studies show that trans-fatty acids raise blood cholesterol levels in ways similar to saturated fats.

Even if you don’t have high cholesterol, it’s important to get quality fats into your body. While most french fries are cooked in vegetable oil, the oil is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated - and reheating the oil tends to oxidize it. Oxidation of oils produces free radicals that can be harmful to the body.

So does that mean you should never eat french fries? No, but try to stick to fats that haven’t been overly processed, like raw nuts, avocados, nonhydrogenated peanut butter, olives, olive oil, canola oil and soybean oil. The less processed a fat is, the better it will be for your body; for example, raw nuts will be better than roasted.

If you’re avoiding butter, you have to choose from among a plethora of margarines and spreads - and looking at all those labels can be a daunting task.

There are two criteria that I use in choosing a butter replacement. If the first ingredient listed is a hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat, then the total amount of fat should not exceed 5 grams (to limit the amount of trans fats consumed). But if the first ingredient is a liquid oil or water, then it’s OK to have 11 grams of fat per tablespoon; just use less.

At the grocery store I found some healthful options. Smart Balance, made from a mixture of soybean, palm, canola and olive oils, has 80 calories per tablespoon and no hydrogenated oils. Promise Ultra, with water, liquid canola oil and partially hydrogenated soybean oil as the first three ingredients, has only 30 calories per tablespoon.

One of my favorites, Brummel & Brown Spread - made from liquid soybean oil and partially hydrogenated soybean oil, water, nonfat yogurt and emulsifiers - has only 50 calories per tablespoon.

Spectrum Spread, with expeller-pressed canola oil (extracted without chemicals), water and sea salt as the first three ingredients, has no hydrogenated oils (and therefore no trans fats). But it has 90 calories per tablespoon, so use it sparingly.