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Fat! Everything You Need to Know :
Sep 05, 2007
To say you haven't heard the phrase "good fat/bad fat" would indicate that you’re either suffering from amnesia or you have spent the last decade reading only Harry Potter. Or maybe you've worked for the American Heart Association for 40 years and didn't get the memo that even they have changed their recommendations away from avoiding all fat to instead include "good fats." Not sure exactly what you should be eating to be successful at weight loss? Tried a bunch of diets, but just can't seem to get where you want? eDiets can help you! Our nutritionists, dieticians and fitness pros can get you in the best shape of your life. Click here for a FREE diet profile and start today! My futile attempts at humor aside, most of us know there are "good fats" out there -- fish oil, some nuts, flaxseed oil, olive oil… The list goes on depending how much money you’re willing to wave at the health food store clerk. But most of us just want to know if we have to have a certain amount of fat, if it will help or hurt our attempts to lose weight, and how we can get it in our diet easily. Save carbon chains, hydrolysis, free-fatty acids and gluconeogenesis for grad students -- just tell me what to do ! (Preferably in a page or less, right?)In a nutshell, saturated fats are bad, unsaturated fats are good. So they tell us. Saturated fats come from animal products like beef, pork, high-fat dairy, and egg yolks (fish being the exception) and unsaturated fats come from plant sources as mentioned above. The terms saturated and unsaturated refer to their chemical composition and stability. Saturated fats are bigger and more stable and therefore harder to break down to use for energy. Think of them as big clumpy, sticky molecules that clog up your arteries – a big, yucky hairball in your drain. Unsaturated fats are more easily digested and used as energy and they actually have some amazing benefits .They are used by the body to create cholesterol-derived hormones, some of which are helpful in metabolism and even things like mood and libido. They contain essential fatty acids that are used for cell repair, cell membrane maintenance, the nervous system, the immune system and will even help increase the good cholesterol (HDL) in your body while reducing the bad. So instead of just avoiding all fat, if you make an effort to sneak in some of the good, you’ll increase your health and potentially lose weight , if it’s part of a good overall plan.
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