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THE FAT TYPES AND THEIR EFFECTS
High consumption of fat or of the
combination fat and carbohydrates causes obesity,
heart disease and other health problems. However the
different types of fat have very different effects on
the health. Here is a survey of the different fat
categories and their effects:
Mono-unsaturated fat - This type of fat prevents heart
disease and circulatory disease in moderate amounts.
Omega-6-poly-unsaturated fat - This fat type prevents
heart disease if you do not consume too much of it.
However it causes inflammatory reactions. This type 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-poly-unsaturated 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-poly-unsaturated 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 infarct of the heart
and other organs.
Cholesterol - Cholesterol is a fat-like compound found
in the food, but also synthesized 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 infarct 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 a 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 seem to be
benevolent for the 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-poly-usaturated fat. This
bad fat consume 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 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 his 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
wanted weight. If you want to loose 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 percent
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
mono-unsaturated fat.
Mono-unsaturated 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, raps oil and walnut
oil.
Omega-6-poly-unsaturated fat - 30 % of the fat
consumption should be from this fat type. You find it
in soy oil and corn oil.
Omega-3-poly-unsaturated fat and
omega-9-poly-usatureted fat - 20 % of the fat
consumption should be this type. You find it in fish
oil and in fat 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 reduce 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 in 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, and not very much of food
containing cholesterol, like eggs and spawn.
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 consume of margarine,
cookies, snacks, and to check the composition of the
bread you consume.
Conjugated linoleic acid - This is perhaps the only
trans fat acid that is benevolent 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 to reduce weight.
By Knut Holt
Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer
focusing on health items. Please go here to find
natural medicines against common diseases, for
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