Our Society is now obsessed with low- and no-fat foods. And the marketers have been quick to
understand our preference and are now bombarding us with fat-free options: fat-free milk, cheese, and yoghurt, low- fat cookies, cakes, and frozen dinners. But while the consumption of such low-fat foods has exploded, so have obesity rates. Clearly, all these low-fat foods haven’t delivered on their healthy promises. The main important point to note is that human body needs a steady consumption of fats and there are good fats and bas fats. We have to make a clear distinction of our choices and identify which fats are good and which are bad.
Good fats also known as healthy fats which our body needs. From lowering bad cholesterol and helping shed excess weight to giving you shiny hair and healthy nails, your body will reap the benefits of these healthy fats.
Bad fats are trans fat. Small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats can be found in meat and dairy products but it is the artificial trans fats that are considered dangerous. These dangerous trans fats
are normal fat molecules that have
been deformed during a process called hydrogenation, where liquid vegetable oil is heated and combined with hydrogen gas. Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils makes food products more stable and are less likely to spoil. Hence the use of bad fat has been rampant in the industry.
92 Versatile | JULY 2018
Healthy Life
COMMON SOURCES OF BAD TRANS FAT
- Commercially baked goods (cookies, crackers, cakes, muffins, pie crusts, pizza dough, breads like hamburger buns)
- Packaged snack foods (crackers, microwave popcorn, chips, candy) Solid fats (stick margarine, vegetable shortening)
- Fried foods (French fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, breaded fish, hard taco shells)
- Pre-mixed products (cake mix, pancake, chocolate milk)
- Anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil listed in the ingredients
COMMON SOURCES OF GOOD FAT
- Avocados
- Olives
- Nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
- Peanut butter (containing just peanuts and salt)
- Walnuts
- Soymilk and tofu
- Sunflower, sesame, flax, and pumpkin seeds
- Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring,
