Good fats vs. bad fats

by Jonny Bowden, M.A.

I keep reading about 'good fats' and 'bad fats', but I have no idea what they are or how to tell the difference between them. Can you help?

answer

Of course. Your body creates some important substances out of fats and uses fat to transport vitamins. So think of fats as building bricks. The better the bricks, the stronger the building. If there are only broken or damaged bricks available, the contractor will use them, but the house won't be as strong and eventually there will be problems.

Good fats are the naturally-occurring, traditional fats that haven't been damaged by high heat, refining, processing or other man-made tampering such as 'partial hydrogenation'. The best of these kinds of fats are found in fish, nuts, avocados, seeds and, believe it or not, fresh creamery butter.

Animal fats have a bad reputation, but many professionals believe it is not animal fat, but the combination of animal foods, fats and low-fibre vegetables that is the problem. Also, because of horrible factory farming methods, antibiotics and steroid use, fats from non-organically raised, non-free-range animals should probably be used with prudence. Among the worst of the 'bad' fats are margarine and the fats found in anything fried. And if you see 'partially hydrogenated' on any food label, avoid it like the plague. Refined vegetable oils are also on the 'bad' fats list. These oils oxidise easily and have been processed with high heat, which removes all the healthy nutrients, like Vitamin E. Extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil, however, is a 'good' fat.

Certain essential fats such as omega-3s (found in oily fish) and the occasional omega-6 (found in evening primrose oil) have been used to treat everything from bipolar depression to skin problems. Some can even benefit us in weight-loss programs. The terms 'omega-3' and 'omega-6' are technical terms having to do with the last occurrence of a carbon double bond in the fatty acid chain ('omega' means 'last'). In general, when you see things like 'omega-3' on the label, it's a good sign.

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Good fats vs. bad fats