Good Fat vs. Bad

Everyone assumes when they hear the word fat that it's bad. But there are different types of fat, the ones that are good for your body, and the ones that aren't. How do you separate the good from bad fats though?

Bad fats are obviously not good for the body. The bad fats often increase one's cholesterol, and not the good type. These bad fats include trans fats and saturated fats. The consumption of bad fats lead to negative effects for your body. These excess fats that your body does not need causes the unhealthy cholesterol to rise, as well as obesity and can make the risk of heart disease much higher.

Saturated fats come mostly from animals, especially the dairy products. Cheese and butter and ice cream are all known to be rich in saturated fats. Saturated fats are known for having negative effects on the body by increasing your bodies level of bad cholesterol.

Trans fats are synthetically produced, they are not found naturally. They are often found in packaged goods like chips, cakes, pies, cookies, fried foods, doughnuts, and of course it is found in most fast food. Trans fat are the all star winner of bad fats, not only do they increase the bad cholesterol, but it also depletes the good cholesterol your body has built up.

The good fat's have many different health benefits for you and your body. The fats that are good for are bodies are known as unsaturated fats, specifically monounsaturated polyunsaturated fats. These are the fats you want to make sure your body is getting!

Monounsaturated fats are found in many different foods, but specifically recieved by eating avocados, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, olives, pecans, and through vegetable oil. This fat helps lower the bad cholesterol found in your body as well as lower one's risk of stroke and heart disease.

Polyunsaturated fats are also known as omega fatty acids. These fats are found in vegetable oils, nuts, soy beans, canola and fatty fish like tuna herring, salmon, and sardines. These fats not only are good for your body and cholesterol, but also for the brain. Especially the foods with Omega-3 (seen in fish and soybeans) are important for brain function, growth and development!

Fat is important! A lot of people jump away from food when they hear the word fat, but you need to check and see what kind of fat you're dealing with. Our body needs fats, not the ones that come from junk food, but we need to make sure our bodies receive the good ones. 

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Chrisi Keating

Santa Clara University