gotbeer
Fri, May-16-03, 16:54
Guinn: The good, the bad and the ugly of fat
By Bob Guinn
Clemson Extension Agent
link to article (http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/051603/LOCguinn.shtml)
In today's world it almost seems impossible to get a good grasp on what we "should" eat before we turn around to find that the story has changed.
The once thought miracle food has suddenly morphed into something so hazardous, you must turn and run as it peers down on you from aisle number nine.
Discerning fact from fiction is difficult when there is so much coming toward you, especially when the "facts" are often so opposed to one another.
This has most definitely been the case with dietary fat. Do we avoid all fats in all cases? Do we pass up the butter for the margarine? What are trans fats? Is olive oil really good for us? It would seem that it is far past time for a clear, current and concise message on the role that fat should play in our diet.
Dr. Walter C. Willet does an amazing job of breaking down the facts of fat in his current bestseller "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy." His book serves as the much-needed field guide leading the weary through the paths of information overload which surround them. What follows is my take on what Willet finds the most pertinent information on fat.
Willet repeatedly enforces the idea that all fats should not be avoided. Some fats are good for us, and it is important to include these fats in our diets.
The fats that are good for us are those that are unsaturated, including both mono and polyunsaturated fats, like olive, peanut, corn, soybean, fish, safflower and canola oils. Eating these unsaturated fats has been linked with lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, without decreasing HDL (good) cholesterol levels, reducing the development of erratic heartbeats, which is a main cause of sudden cardiac death, and also reducing the tendency for clots to form in arteries, which blocks blood flow.
Willet says saturated and trans fats should be avoided whenever possible.
Saturated fats are known to have negative effects on cholesterol levels and the process of atherosclerosis. Saturated fat can be found in foods such as whole milk, butter, cheese, ice cream and red meat. Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, are even worse than saturated fats. Trans fats are manmade fats created in the hydrogenation process.
Hydrogenation helps to solidify vegetable oils so that shipping and storing these products is more cost effective. They are commonly found in most margarines, vegetable shortening, fast food and commercial baked goods.
While both saturated and trans fats have been shown to increase LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, only trans fats have been linked with also lowering HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Studies have shown that trans fats increase the amount of triglycerides and lipoprotein in the bloodstream, both of which are markers for heart disease. Whenever possible, replace the saturated fats you find in your diet with unsaturated fats. Be vigilant in your search for foods containing trans fats. These fats are not just bad, they are ugly with concern to your health.
And how does weight control fit into the picture? Will eating more fat make you gain weight?
"Remember, the goal here isn't getting more fat in your diet. Instead it is cutting back on saturated and trans fats while increasing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and keeping the number of daily calories constant.
"If you do that you won't gain weight. The fat in your diet doesn't necessarily make you fat. If you usually eat more calories than you burn off, you're going to gain weight regardless of whether your calories mostly come from fat, carbohydrates or protein," Willet says.
Fat contributes two times as many calories per gram as either carbohydrate or protein, so eating fatty foods makes it easier to consume considerably more calories in a much smaller amount of food.
Avoiding fat completely, however, is often an unrealistic and unhealthy goal. Unsaturated fats, found in foods such as olive oil, avocados and almonds, should be included in moderate amounts as part of well-balanced weight control diet.
Avoiding trans fats is difficult because they are everywhere. Vegetable shortenings and most stick margarines are loaded with trans fats. But the main harborers of those nasty trans fats are the processed convenience foods we scarf down on our way to work in the morning, and sitting in front of the television late at night.
"The bulk of trans fats that we eat, somewhere around 70 percent, is hidden in commercially baked goods like crackers, muffins and cookies, in other prepared foods, and in fried foods prepared in restaurants. ... You can find these stealth trans fats by searching the ingredient list of food labels for the words partially hydrogenated vegetable oils or vegetable shortening or by grilling waiters or cooks while eating out," Willet says.
A moderate amount of healthy, unsaturated fats included in your diet can be a very good thing.
Likewise, close to complete avoidance of saturated and trans fats is a very smart idea.
(Source: Willet, W., Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. Simon & Schuster, 2001, pages 56-84.)
Clemson Extension Agent Bob Guinn can be reached at 470-3655 or by e-mail at rguinn~Clemson.edu
By Bob Guinn
Clemson Extension Agent
link to article (http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/051603/LOCguinn.shtml)
In today's world it almost seems impossible to get a good grasp on what we "should" eat before we turn around to find that the story has changed.
The once thought miracle food has suddenly morphed into something so hazardous, you must turn and run as it peers down on you from aisle number nine.
Discerning fact from fiction is difficult when there is so much coming toward you, especially when the "facts" are often so opposed to one another.
This has most definitely been the case with dietary fat. Do we avoid all fats in all cases? Do we pass up the butter for the margarine? What are trans fats? Is olive oil really good for us? It would seem that it is far past time for a clear, current and concise message on the role that fat should play in our diet.
Dr. Walter C. Willet does an amazing job of breaking down the facts of fat in his current bestseller "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy." His book serves as the much-needed field guide leading the weary through the paths of information overload which surround them. What follows is my take on what Willet finds the most pertinent information on fat.
Willet repeatedly enforces the idea that all fats should not be avoided. Some fats are good for us, and it is important to include these fats in our diets.
The fats that are good for us are those that are unsaturated, including both mono and polyunsaturated fats, like olive, peanut, corn, soybean, fish, safflower and canola oils. Eating these unsaturated fats has been linked with lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, without decreasing HDL (good) cholesterol levels, reducing the development of erratic heartbeats, which is a main cause of sudden cardiac death, and also reducing the tendency for clots to form in arteries, which blocks blood flow.
Willet says saturated and trans fats should be avoided whenever possible.
Saturated fats are known to have negative effects on cholesterol levels and the process of atherosclerosis. Saturated fat can be found in foods such as whole milk, butter, cheese, ice cream and red meat. Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, are even worse than saturated fats. Trans fats are manmade fats created in the hydrogenation process.
Hydrogenation helps to solidify vegetable oils so that shipping and storing these products is more cost effective. They are commonly found in most margarines, vegetable shortening, fast food and commercial baked goods.
While both saturated and trans fats have been shown to increase LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, only trans fats have been linked with also lowering HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Studies have shown that trans fats increase the amount of triglycerides and lipoprotein in the bloodstream, both of which are markers for heart disease. Whenever possible, replace the saturated fats you find in your diet with unsaturated fats. Be vigilant in your search for foods containing trans fats. These fats are not just bad, they are ugly with concern to your health.
And how does weight control fit into the picture? Will eating more fat make you gain weight?
"Remember, the goal here isn't getting more fat in your diet. Instead it is cutting back on saturated and trans fats while increasing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and keeping the number of daily calories constant.
"If you do that you won't gain weight. The fat in your diet doesn't necessarily make you fat. If you usually eat more calories than you burn off, you're going to gain weight regardless of whether your calories mostly come from fat, carbohydrates or protein," Willet says.
Fat contributes two times as many calories per gram as either carbohydrate or protein, so eating fatty foods makes it easier to consume considerably more calories in a much smaller amount of food.
Avoiding fat completely, however, is often an unrealistic and unhealthy goal. Unsaturated fats, found in foods such as olive oil, avocados and almonds, should be included in moderate amounts as part of well-balanced weight control diet.
Avoiding trans fats is difficult because they are everywhere. Vegetable shortenings and most stick margarines are loaded with trans fats. But the main harborers of those nasty trans fats are the processed convenience foods we scarf down on our way to work in the morning, and sitting in front of the television late at night.
"The bulk of trans fats that we eat, somewhere around 70 percent, is hidden in commercially baked goods like crackers, muffins and cookies, in other prepared foods, and in fried foods prepared in restaurants. ... You can find these stealth trans fats by searching the ingredient list of food labels for the words partially hydrogenated vegetable oils or vegetable shortening or by grilling waiters or cooks while eating out," Willet says.
A moderate amount of healthy, unsaturated fats included in your diet can be a very good thing.
Likewise, close to complete avoidance of saturated and trans fats is a very smart idea.
(Source: Willet, W., Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. Simon & Schuster, 2001, pages 56-84.)
Clemson Extension Agent Bob Guinn can be reached at 470-3655 or by e-mail at rguinn~Clemson.edu