Good Fat, Bad Fat?

[Serpent]

OK, we all know that we need fat in our diets. Fat is not a bad thing when you exercise. However, we also know that saturated fat is the bad fat, of which we need very little.

Please correct any of the above if it's wrong.

My question is this: How much saturated fat is ok to intake and when does the level of saturated fat eaten become a health risk? It's very hard to avoid saturated fat these days, so how much is it safe to eat?

[nospam]

Man..I hate them saturday fats..that's why I skip that one and go straight to SUnday.

The way I see it with my one good eye is if your active and eat in moderation it doesn't matter much how long ya stay on saturday. And with the many varying body types, we all should realise by the time wese 18-21 what we can get away with.

I remember reading an article (during my body building days) from Mr O - Lee Haney...although he didn't eat much junk food (for obvious reasons) when he did he'd **** it out of his sytem later that day...in with the bad out with the bad, but it allowed himt o enjoy the occasional big mac. My body's the same way, as are most of us I'd imagine.

The best way to tell if you are healthy is by your ****.. :o

So go take a cow and study it..before another saturday comes and ya flush it down the toilet~!

hahahaha - man I crack myself up sometimes..

nospam.
:cool:

[Serpent]

ok... er, thanks... I think.

However, that does nothing to answer my question and even the healthiest among us is at risk from cholesterol, etc.

Anyone else?

[PLCrane]

I'd have to look up the exact amounts, but you need a balance of all the essential fatty acids. That includes arachidonic acid, which is saturated. You'd die without it. Problem is, most of us in the west get too much of that, and not enough of the others. Eat fish a couple times a week (I think the recommended amount is 2-3 times per week). Deep sea fish is the best choice for the oils.

The other problem is that much of the saturated fat that we get is from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. These are unnatural fats that get in the way of the enzymes that metabolize fats and cause our arteries to get clogged. The amount needed in the diet is zero. Stay away from anything with hydrogenated oils (partially or otherwise) or trans- fatty acids.

If you're eating a high protein diet, you're probably getting more fat than you need, as they usually travel together. Eat lots of vegetable and eliminate any unnecessary fats. (don't butter your veggies, don't eat fried foods, and stay away from the donut shop and other fast foods.)

[Serpent]

OK, this is close to what I was after, but could you clarify a few points:

"Stay away from anything with hydrogenated oils (partially or otherwise) or trans- fatty acids."

How do we know where these occur?

[PLCrane]

They don't occur in nature, so they won't be in unprocessed foods. Read labels.

[Serpent]

Fair enough, but I'm only human. I like the occasional fish n chips dinner, I like crisps, etc. I don't always eat whole food from the health store, so I'm going to come across these bad fats.

Which takes me back to the original question: How much can we safely eat. I know that none is best, but how much before it becomes an actual health deficit?

[Cheese Dog]

Your body actually needs small amounts off some saturated fatty acids to make hormones (including testosterone!). This is why veggitarians have lower test levels. As for how much saturated fat, most nutritionists say no more than 1/3 of your daily intake, with no more than 20% of your total daily calories from fat.

Of course, if you are on a low-carb diet your proportions would be much different.

[PLCrane]

None.

http://www.cspinet.org/new/200207101.html
July 10,2002
NAS Panel: Only Safe Intake of Trans Fat is Zero

CSPI Says Report Makes Case For Including Trans On Food Labels

In 1994, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the FDA to require that Nutrition Facts labels disclose trans fat. In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration proposed to require trans fat labeling, but delayed finalizing a regulation, in part, to consider a report from the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, which was released today. Following is a statement from CSPI Nutrition Policy Director Margo Wootan:

“The National Academy of Sciences’ report is the first attempt by a panel of experts to set a safe intake level for trans fat. The panel found that, like saturated fat, trans fat promotes heart disease. Furthermore, the panel concluded that the only safe intake of trans fat is ‘zero.’ However, because it would be impractical to eliminate all trans fat from the diet, the panel recommended that people consume as little trans fat as possible. Yet it is currently impossible for consumers to follow the panel’s advice because the Food and Drug Administration does not require trans fat to be listed on Nutrition Facts food labels.

“This report leaves the FDA with only one choice: It should require trans fat to be labeled on the same line as saturated fat, using the current Daily Value for saturated fat. That’s what the Canadian government has already proposed. To list trans fat on labels with no Daily Value would confuse the public because it would give consumers no clue that they should consume as little trans fat as possible, as the NAS recommended today.”

[IronFist]

I once saw a piece of Eli's cheesecake that had 100% of the RDA for saturated fat! Holy crap.

I actually just read something that said cholesterol may not be as bad as everyone thinks it is, but I forgot what it said so I'll have to go back and read it again.

IronFist

[Kempo Guy]

The fats you should consume are Omega-3 and Omega-6.

KG

[PLCrane]

Kempo Guy,

That would be omega-6, not omega-5. Anyone who consumes meat or dairy products regularly will get enough omega-6 fatty acids. The omega-3 ffa's come from fish and cold-weather vegetables (flax seed, walnuts, even spinach has some, but you need to eat it raw). Omega-9 is safe, but not essential. An example is olive oil. It's a good choice for cooking, because it only has one double bond (mono-unsaturated) and is less prone to forming free radicals. Polyunsaturated oils like safflower, sunflower or corn oil are poor choices for cooking because they make free radicals and they get rancid more easily.

Iron Fist,

Eliminating cholesterol from the diet has little effect on the blood levels of cholesterol for two reasons - it's only found in milligram quantities in foods, and your liver manufactures more cholesterol in a day than you could eat. While it's true that cholesterol buildup in the arteries is bad for you, it's not the cholesterol itself that causes the buildup.

All the publicity about cholesterol in foods is a subterfuge promoted by the food industry to keep you from thinking about all the hydrogenated fat that they add to the food. That's the real killer. The advantage of hydrogenated fat is that it won't get rancid. The food industry is interested in long shelf life of foods; they don't care about the shelf-life of the consumer. I wouldn't be surprised if the food industry is investing in hospitals so that they could profit from treating you after they profit from making you sick. F'kers.

PLC

[Kempo Guy]

PLCrane,

Thanks! My mistake. I was in a hurry and mistyped it. AND I managed to double post... :o I've corrected the problem!

BTW, I was under the impression that EFA's (including Omega-3 and 6) are both classified as "polyunsaturated fatty acids"? I also thought that Omega-6 fatty acids are consumed from vegetable oils (as linoleic acid) as well. And then changed to gamma-linolenic acid, and then broken down to arachidonic acid. Having said that AA can be taken up directly from meat so perhaps my question is moot... :confused:

Perhaps you can clarify?

KG

[PLCrane]

Oops! You're right. Arachidonic is polyunsaturated. I guess it's found along with saturated fats in meat and dairy. It all gets blurry as senility creeps up on me.

I don't remember all the pathways. I tried to find a simple flowchart online, but had no luck. All I come up with are long paragraphs with a lot of big words. Here's one with a pretty good explanation of why we need a balance of fatty acids: http://www.bioriginal.com/faqs_curr4.html

Vegetable oils tend to contain mostly omega-6, but some contain omega-3 as well. Examples of oils with significant amounts of omega-3 would include walnut oil, flax oil, and even canola oil has a bit. The omega-3's seem to get rancid faster than the omega-6's. Flax oil will last around 6 weeks after it's opened, if you keep it in the freezer.

None of the polyunsaturated oils will hold up well to heat (as in frying), which is where the recommendation for using mono-unsaturates for cooking comes from. Never mind that I've got olive oil in my blood. Some sources will recommend unsaturated oils for cooking, such as coconut oil. As long as it isn't hydrogenated coconut oil, it's safe to use. Here's a link to a website all about the benefits of coconut oil: http://www.lauric.org

OK., I found it. There's a chart at the bottom if you scroll past the sales pitch: http://www.nutrisana.com/html/omega.html

The molecules get longer as you go to the right.
omega-6:
Linoleic ---> gamma-linolenic ---> arachidonic
omega-3:
Alpha-linolenic ---> EPA ---> DHA

Thanks for pointing out the error.