Trans-fat is no longer a strange term for people who concern about health. Anyway, it is still common that a lot of people who do not familiar with trans-fat, although they aware that there are ”good” fats and “bad” fats. Normally, people believe that bad fats are saturated fat, and they will avoid consuming it especially when they are engaged in their program for weight loss. Actually, this is too fast to be concluded that bad fats are saturated as there is a type of fat that far more dangerous than saturated fat and this is none other than trans-fat.
Virtually, all the data we have that link the saturated fats and heart disease does not distinguish between saturated fat and trans- fat. This makes us hardly to know whether or not saturated fat got the blame for something that was really being done by trans-fat.
Study published in Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease points out that saturated fat lower the lipoprotein, a risk factor for heart disease, and increase protective HDL cholesterol; while trans-fat not only do the exact opposite but also raise LDL cholesterol level. This clearly shows that many of us who believe that saturated fat has gotten the blame for damage that is actually caused by trans-fat.
Apart from that, saturated fat is not a homogenous entity. In fact, saturated fat consists of many different types of fatty acids, and some of them are downright beneficial for overall health and healthy weight loss purpose. For instance, lauric acid has antimicrobial and antiviral properties and is able to fight bacteria, and caprylic acid is used to fight yeast. In addition, short and medium chain saturated fatty acids such as those found in coconuts are actually much more likely to be burned for fuel than stored as fat, and thus can be an excellent adjunct to a healthy weight loss program. Others such as stearic acid has no effect whatsoever on cholesterol, except to possibly increase protective HDL in our body.
So, not all saturated fats are bad fats. In fact, a better way to categorize fats is by whether they are damaged or undamaged. You can damage fats in numerous ways such as overheating oil by frying at high temperatures. This will create toxic substances known as lipid peroxides. Another way is through industrial process, named partial hydrogenation. This will create trans-fat, which is the most dangerous of all fats.
We are easily come into contact with trans-fat nowadays. Trans-fats are found in almost all fast foods such as french fries, most margarines made products like cake, cookies and other baked products as well as movie popcorn. That is why you need to avoid it in your food and nutrition aspect, especially when you are on any healthy weight loss program because they are associated with all of the degenerative common diseases in this modern world.
Although we know that the most dangerous fat is trans-fat, we still need to aware and keep saturated fat intake at a reasonable level for healthy weight loss and overall health purpose. For some people, consuming saturated fat can increase insulin resistance. Apart from that, the fast food meats that are our biggest sources of saturated fat are loaded with bovine growth hormone, steroids and also antibiotics. The danger is probably not so much from saturated fat itself, but from what is in the kind of saturated fat we typically eat. Besides, too much of fat causes the imbalance in our diet between omega-6 fats and omega-3 fats, bringing a big health issue.
If you are on your program for weight loss, it is recommended that you consume not more than 20% fats in your daily food intake. You can get further information in my essential nutrients article if you want. Besides diet adjustment and minimize the consumption of trans-fat and saturated fat, perform regular exercise is also important for healthy weight loss and overall health purpose.
