Sun Aug 25, 2013 7:29 am by 
Fats , also called lipid , play a vital role in promoting healthy cell function, maintaining body temperature and maintaining healthy skin and hair. Fats also serve as energy stores for the body, containing 9 kcal per gram of fat which is double the amount of calorie you can get from proteins or carbohydrates (4 kcal/gm). It is also essential for brain development and production of cholesterol in the liver. However, when fat level in the body exceeds the normal level, it is associated with health complications such as obesity, high blood pressure and heart diseases.
The conventional wisdom has been that all high-fat foods contribute to cardiovascular risks, promote arteriosclerosis, and contribute to obesity. As with many oversimplifications, this is wrong. All fats are not equal. Fat can be categorized as good fat and bad fat:
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Good Fat: This include unsaturated fat like polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat . Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are suggested to lower low-density lipoprotein ( LDL ) cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol. Both types are predominantly found in plant products. Examples of polyunsaturated fat food sources include soybean, sunflower, fish and corn oils. Monounsaturated fat is found in high content inolive, peanut, and canola oils.
*.
Bad Fat: This include saturated fat and trans fat . Saturated fats are known to raise cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. They may also increase the risk of certain cancers. Trans fats, in addition to raisinglevels of bad (LDL) cholesterol, they also decrease your good ( HDL ) cholesterol. Many researchers also suspect that trans fats increase the risk not only for heart disease, but also for type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, and breast cancer. Major sources of saturated fat are animal food-based products. Trans fat is found in small amounts in various animal products such as beef, pork, lamb and in butter and milk.
Several studies indicate that replacement of food high in saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat rich foods reduces the total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
Some of the foods which are rich in Saturated or bad fats are:
1.
Pizza: Pizza is a junk food which is tasty as well as filling. People readily go for it not knowing that just a slice of medium size pizza can give them 350 to 500 calories. Pizza base which is made up of maida (white flour) is purely refined containing only plain calories and no other nutrients . Then on top of it, it contains a lot of cheese which is a milk product high in saturated fat, rich in protein but gives lot of calories. Extra toppings with paneer, chicken or cheese increases the saturated fat content.
2.
Burger: In India, burgers are usually filled with vegetables and patties that are made from chicken or potatoes which are deep fried. Though all of us love it, we forget to check on the calories and fat content in it. The patties filled in for these Burgers are deep fried in oils which are generally high in saturated fats and trans fat. Another version of the Indian vegetarian burger is the Vada Pav consisting again of deep fried potato patty dipped in gram flour (besan) batter.
3.
Meat and Meat products: This is one of the foods that any non-vegetarian would relish just with the name of it. There are different kinds of meats like beef, lamb, pork, mutton, chicken, fish and egg. All of these have high amounts of fat in it, but considerably Fish and Chicken are much healthier. Any pork and beef products contain at least 20 – 30% of saturated fat (the bad fat) in it. Though Egg is considered very good source of protein, we should also keep in mind that the egg yolk also contains high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. Most fish are lower in saturated fat than meat. Some fish, such as mackerel, sardines, and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids that offer protection against heart disease.
4.
Milk Chocolates: Chocolate is energy dense, which means it contains comparatively high levels of kilojoules for its weight, approximately 2,200 kJ per 100gm. About 60% of chocolate's fat is saturated, and a typical chocolate bar contains 8 grams of saturated fat, so bingeing on chocolate drives up your intake of saturated fat. Regularly eating energy dense food is perhaps the fastest way to gain excess weight, but it would be wrong tosay that regularly eating chocolate will lead to obesity. Go for dark chocolate whenever you have craving for chocolates as it is rich in antioxidants . These antioxidants help in fighting against pre-mature aging and heart diseases.
5.
Deep Fried Foods: Common snack item for the tea-time in any Indian household. But the problem we overlook is that these foods consume a lot of oil during frying which directlydeposits in our body and leads to obesity. Most of the oils in which these snacks are fried contain a minimum of 13 – 19% of Saturated fats. Safflower or Sunflower oils have less amounts of saturated fat, so choose that. A much better option would be avoiding the deep fried foods and choosing healthy snacks like roasted channa, fruits, multi-grain biscuits, etc.
6.
Sweets: Sweets are favorite and weakness of many people. There are wide varieties or ranges of sweets. Sweets are made up of ghee, khoa, cream, whole milk, maida (white flour), dalda (margarine) and butter, which are very rich in saturated fats. Sugar is the basic ingredient in any sweet and lots of sugar is needed for sweet preparation. Sugar increases the glucose level in the body and get stored in the form of glycogen and later becomes fat. Cooking method is more or less deep frying. During frying, food substances absorbs high amount of oil/ghee or dalda and sweets which are already rich in milk fat and sugar when fried becomes very high in saturated fat.
7.
Pastries: Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods such as small cakes, tarts and other sweet goods. Pastry is distinguished from bread by having a higher fat content, which contributes to a flaky or crumbly texture.Ingredients for basic pastry preparation are maida (white flour), butter/shortening, baking powder, cream or eggs which makes pastries high in saturated fat. Now a days there are variety of pastries like choco fudge, pineapple pastry, etc containing other ingredients like choco souce and caramel which again give rise to bad fats. Because of the high saturated fat inpastries, regular consumption of pastries should be avoided.
8.
Ice Cream: Yummy is the first word that comes into our mind when we think of Ice creams. Young or the old, all of us just love it. But does the fact that they are filled with bad fats come into our mind? Traditionally, ice cream is made with heavy cream loaded with saturated fat. Low-fat ice creams are a healthier choice as they are low in saturated fat but they can still be high in calories. Gelato is one of the best options available because it has less air whipped into the product than traditional ice cream. More importantly, it is usually made with milk instead of heavy cream.
9.
Coldcoffee/Milkshakes: Cold coffee, unfiltered coffee such as french press coffee and espressoare rich in fat due to whole milk and cream. It has the ability to raise our cholesterol levels because of the oil called Terpenes found in coffee. Milkshakes can be of fruits, vanilla, roseetc and mainly contains whole milk and cream which are high in saturated fats. Also, because it is liquid in nature, it needs more sugar. 150mlof whole milk gives 6 gm of fat, 100 ml Cream gives 10 - 12 gm of fat. So next time be careful before ordering cold coffee or vanilla/any milkshakes.
10.
Cookies: Any kids favorite. So is ours, isn't it? But be careful, it isn't as sweet as it tastes. It's high in sugar as well as in fat and calories. Most of the cookies are made either from Butter or Margarine and both of them are highin the bad fat. Butter contains both saturated fats and cholesterol – the two dietary ingredients that increase blood cholesterol, whereas, Margarine is loaded with Trans fat. These Trans fats are the stiffer and harder fats of all, which if eaten in large amounts contribute in clogging the arteries leading to the heart problems.
Although reducing dietary fat is important, eliminating all fat from your diet is not at all healthy. Dietary Fat is a main source of energy for our body and it also aids our body in absorbing vitamins . It's important for proper growth, development and keeping us healthy. The body cannot produce fat on its own; it must be provided through dietary intake. Therefore, you should enjoy some fats in your diet, especially monounsaturated fats like in olive oil. The key is moderation not elimination.
The conventional wisdom has been that all high-fat foods contribute to cardiovascular risks, promote arteriosclerosis, and contribute to obesity. As with many oversimplifications, this is wrong. All fats are not equal. Fat can be categorized as good fat and bad fat:
*.
Good Fat: This include unsaturated fat like polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat . Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are suggested to lower low-density lipoprotein ( LDL ) cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol. Both types are predominantly found in plant products. Examples of polyunsaturated fat food sources include soybean, sunflower, fish and corn oils. Monounsaturated fat is found in high content inolive, peanut, and canola oils.
*.
Bad Fat: This include saturated fat and trans fat . Saturated fats are known to raise cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. They may also increase the risk of certain cancers. Trans fats, in addition to raisinglevels of bad (LDL) cholesterol, they also decrease your good ( HDL ) cholesterol. Many researchers also suspect that trans fats increase the risk not only for heart disease, but also for type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, and breast cancer. Major sources of saturated fat are animal food-based products. Trans fat is found in small amounts in various animal products such as beef, pork, lamb and in butter and milk.
Several studies indicate that replacement of food high in saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat rich foods reduces the total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
Some of the foods which are rich in Saturated or bad fats are:
1.
Pizza: Pizza is a junk food which is tasty as well as filling. People readily go for it not knowing that just a slice of medium size pizza can give them 350 to 500 calories. Pizza base which is made up of maida (white flour) is purely refined containing only plain calories and no other nutrients . Then on top of it, it contains a lot of cheese which is a milk product high in saturated fat, rich in protein but gives lot of calories. Extra toppings with paneer, chicken or cheese increases the saturated fat content.
2.
Burger: In India, burgers are usually filled with vegetables and patties that are made from chicken or potatoes which are deep fried. Though all of us love it, we forget to check on the calories and fat content in it. The patties filled in for these Burgers are deep fried in oils which are generally high in saturated fats and trans fat. Another version of the Indian vegetarian burger is the Vada Pav consisting again of deep fried potato patty dipped in gram flour (besan) batter.
3.
Meat and Meat products: This is one of the foods that any non-vegetarian would relish just with the name of it. There are different kinds of meats like beef, lamb, pork, mutton, chicken, fish and egg. All of these have high amounts of fat in it, but considerably Fish and Chicken are much healthier. Any pork and beef products contain at least 20 – 30% of saturated fat (the bad fat) in it. Though Egg is considered very good source of protein, we should also keep in mind that the egg yolk also contains high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. Most fish are lower in saturated fat than meat. Some fish, such as mackerel, sardines, and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids that offer protection against heart disease.
4.
Milk Chocolates: Chocolate is energy dense, which means it contains comparatively high levels of kilojoules for its weight, approximately 2,200 kJ per 100gm. About 60% of chocolate's fat is saturated, and a typical chocolate bar contains 8 grams of saturated fat, so bingeing on chocolate drives up your intake of saturated fat. Regularly eating energy dense food is perhaps the fastest way to gain excess weight, but it would be wrong tosay that regularly eating chocolate will lead to obesity. Go for dark chocolate whenever you have craving for chocolates as it is rich in antioxidants . These antioxidants help in fighting against pre-mature aging and heart diseases.
5.
Deep Fried Foods: Common snack item for the tea-time in any Indian household. But the problem we overlook is that these foods consume a lot of oil during frying which directlydeposits in our body and leads to obesity. Most of the oils in which these snacks are fried contain a minimum of 13 – 19% of Saturated fats. Safflower or Sunflower oils have less amounts of saturated fat, so choose that. A much better option would be avoiding the deep fried foods and choosing healthy snacks like roasted channa, fruits, multi-grain biscuits, etc.
6.
Sweets: Sweets are favorite and weakness of many people. There are wide varieties or ranges of sweets. Sweets are made up of ghee, khoa, cream, whole milk, maida (white flour), dalda (margarine) and butter, which are very rich in saturated fats. Sugar is the basic ingredient in any sweet and lots of sugar is needed for sweet preparation. Sugar increases the glucose level in the body and get stored in the form of glycogen and later becomes fat. Cooking method is more or less deep frying. During frying, food substances absorbs high amount of oil/ghee or dalda and sweets which are already rich in milk fat and sugar when fried becomes very high in saturated fat.
7.
Pastries: Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods such as small cakes, tarts and other sweet goods. Pastry is distinguished from bread by having a higher fat content, which contributes to a flaky or crumbly texture.Ingredients for basic pastry preparation are maida (white flour), butter/shortening, baking powder, cream or eggs which makes pastries high in saturated fat. Now a days there are variety of pastries like choco fudge, pineapple pastry, etc containing other ingredients like choco souce and caramel which again give rise to bad fats. Because of the high saturated fat inpastries, regular consumption of pastries should be avoided.
8.
Ice Cream: Yummy is the first word that comes into our mind when we think of Ice creams. Young or the old, all of us just love it. But does the fact that they are filled with bad fats come into our mind? Traditionally, ice cream is made with heavy cream loaded with saturated fat. Low-fat ice creams are a healthier choice as they are low in saturated fat but they can still be high in calories. Gelato is one of the best options available because it has less air whipped into the product than traditional ice cream. More importantly, it is usually made with milk instead of heavy cream.
9.
Coldcoffee/Milkshakes: Cold coffee, unfiltered coffee such as french press coffee and espressoare rich in fat due to whole milk and cream. It has the ability to raise our cholesterol levels because of the oil called Terpenes found in coffee. Milkshakes can be of fruits, vanilla, roseetc and mainly contains whole milk and cream which are high in saturated fats. Also, because it is liquid in nature, it needs more sugar. 150mlof whole milk gives 6 gm of fat, 100 ml Cream gives 10 - 12 gm of fat. So next time be careful before ordering cold coffee or vanilla/any milkshakes.
10.
Cookies: Any kids favorite. So is ours, isn't it? But be careful, it isn't as sweet as it tastes. It's high in sugar as well as in fat and calories. Most of the cookies are made either from Butter or Margarine and both of them are highin the bad fat. Butter contains both saturated fats and cholesterol – the two dietary ingredients that increase blood cholesterol, whereas, Margarine is loaded with Trans fat. These Trans fats are the stiffer and harder fats of all, which if eaten in large amounts contribute in clogging the arteries leading to the heart problems.
Although reducing dietary fat is important, eliminating all fat from your diet is not at all healthy. Dietary Fat is a main source of energy for our body and it also aids our body in absorbing vitamins . It's important for proper growth, development and keeping us healthy. The body cannot produce fat on its own; it must be provided through dietary intake. Therefore, you should enjoy some fats in your diet, especially monounsaturated fats like in olive oil. The key is moderation not elimination.
Last edited by Admin on Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:15 pm; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : To educate you)
