What Good and Bad Fat Can Do to Your Health?

THE FAT TYPES AND THEIR EFFECTS High consumption of fat or of the combination of fat and carbohydrates causes obesity, heart disease, and other health problems. However, the different types of fat have very different effects on health. Here is a survey of the different fat categories and their effects: Monounsaturated fat – This type of fat prevents heart disease and circulatory disease in moderate amounts. Omega-6-polyunsaturated fat – This fat type prevents heart disease if you do not consume too much of it. However, it causes inflammatory reactions.

These types of reactions are benign when they are moderate and when they are provoked to fight disease. But a constant high inflammatory response is dangerous and can cause rheumatism, heart trouble, and cancer. A very high consumption of this type of fat is therefore dangerous. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fat—This type of fat prevents heart disease and reduces inflammatory reactions in moderate amounts. Therefore, it also reduces the risk of cancer, intestinal inflammations, and rheumatism. Omega-9-polyunsaturated fat –

This type of fat also prevents heart disease and reduces inflammatory reactions in moderate amounts. Therefore, it reduces the risk of cancer, intestinal inflammations, and rheumatism. Saturated fat – This type of fat is probably not dangerous in small amounts. In higher amounts, saturated fat gives high cholesterol levels, causes clogging of the blood vessels, causes coronary heart disease, and increases the risk of infarction of the heart and other organs. Cholesterol – Cholesterol is a fat-like compound found in food but also synthesised from saturated fat by the body. High intake of saturated fat or of cholesterol itself therefore elevates the cholesterol level in the body.

Cholesterol is a necessary compound, but in higher amounts, it causes clogging of the blood vessels, causes coronary heart disease and increases the risk of infarction of the heart and other organs. Trans-fat – This type of fat is produced by chemical processing to yield specific mechanical properties. Margarine often contains this type of fat. This type of fat is dangerous and is probably a causal component for heart disease and cancer.

There is, however, one exception: Some amount of fat containing the trans acid, conjugated linoleic acid, seems to be beneficial for skin health and may help reduce weight. Conjugated linoleic acid is found in milk and butter. COMMON PROBLEMS OF THE AVERAGE DIET The average American and European diet generally contains too much fat and carbohydrates combined. The fat consumed is generally a mixture of trans fat, saturated fat, and omega-6 polyunsaturated fat. This bad fat consumption causes overweight and is probably a major contributing component for the incidence of heart disease, cancer, intestinal inflammatory diseases, rheumatism, and other inflammatory conditions.

RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FAT IN THE DIET: A common piece of advice is to let 25-30 % of the energy needed be covered by fat and the rest by carbohydrates. However, experts do not agree at this point. Some recommend a low-carbohydrate diet with more fat, and others recommend a high-carbohydrate diet with a low-fat amount. In either case, the combined intake of fat and carbohydrates should not be much higher than your daily energy consumption if you have a normal or desired weight. If you want to lose weight, this combined amount must be lower.

If you want to gain weight, it should be higher. THE RIGHT MIXTURE OF FAT TYPES The right mixture of different fat types is as important as the amount of fat in the diet to keep good health. However, you must not take the per cent ratios given here too literally, since there is little agreement about the exact ratios that should be recommended. Furthermore, if you have an active lifestyle that demands much energy, this is best achieved by increasing the amount of carbohydrates and monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fat—Ideally, as much as 35% of the fat consumption should be from this type of fat. You can find this fat in olive oil, rapeseed oil and walnut oil.

Omega-6 polyunsaturated fat—30% of the fat consumption should be from this fat type. You find it in soy oil and corn oil. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fat and omega-9 polyunsaturated fat – 20 % of the fat consumption should be this type. You find it in fish oil and in fatty fish. If you suffer from inflammatory conditions like rheumatism and intestinal inflammation, you will probably benefit from increasing the amount of this fat type and reducing the amount of other fat types. Saturated fat—Not more than 15 % of the fat consumption should be saturated fat.

Saturated fat is found in fat from mammals, coconut fat, and milk. Cholesterol – The cholesterol level in the body depends upon the combined amount of consumed cholesterol itself and saturated fat. To keep the cholesterol level right, you should not consume too much saturated fat or very much food containing cholesterol, like eggs and shellfish. Trans fat—This type of fat should ideally not be a part of the diet at all.

Margarine, cookies, snacks, and often also bread contain this type of fat. It is therefore important to reduce consumption of margarine, cookies, and snacks and to check the composition of the bread you consume. Conjugated linoleic acid—This is perhaps the only trans fatty acid that is beneficial in some amount. It is found in natural milk fat, and you can buy dietary supplements of this substance. A small amount of this substance may help keep your skin healthy and may help you lose weight.