Food Facts: Fats and Oils

Fats and oils

  > What you want: monounsaturated fat and omega 3's

      >> Where can I find these?

             Monounsaturated fats are found in Canola oil, Olive oil, and Peanut oil. They can only be found in liquid form at room temperature. Omega 3's are naturally found in fish like Salmon. 

       >> Why are these good?

              Monounsaturated fats gather other fats and bring them to the liver to be digested. Omega 3's are chemically structured in a way that is friendly to our bodies :)

> What you absolutely do not want: trans fats

     >> Where can I find these?

            These are formed by a chemical process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation takes a liquid oil and makes it solid at room temperature. So, these are your products like margarine, shortening, the non-natural peanut butters.

      >> Why are these bad?

             They have a chemical bond that makes them impossible for your body to digest and excrete as waste, so they build up as plaque. Be ware just because a food label does not list them as having any, if the product is hydrogenated or contains hydrogenated oils then it has less than 1% per serving, which can build up over time. Your best bet is to avoid as much as possible.

>What you want to use only in moderation: saturated fats.

    >> Where can I find these?

          These are solid natural fats at room temperature. These are butter and coconut oil.

    >> Why are these bad?

         This is how our body stores fat, so the more we have of this in our diet the more we are going to store.

That was food facts with fats and oil. More will be coming soon :)