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Fast Facts about Fats and Oils

Fat is solid at room temperature; Oil is liquid.
Everyone needs some fat in their diet. Around 20-30% of daily calories.
A tablespoon of fat or oil has 120 calories! Or 250 calories per oz. or 9 calories per gram.

Vegetable Oil – from peanut, soya bean, sunflower, sesame, coconut, olive, and other vegetable oils
Animal Fat – lard (pig fat), fish oil, and butter. From fats in the milk, meat and under the skin of the animal
Hydrogenation – artificial process conversion of liquid vegetable oils to solid or semi-solid fats (as in margarine). turns unsaturated fat to saturated fat. Creates trans-fat. Increases the risk of heart disease. Very Bad.
Hydrogenated oil – vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated. Keep away.
Partially hydrogenated oil – vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated to some degree. Keep away as well.
Saturated fat – occurs naturally in animal fats, or artificially in vegetable oils when hydrogenated. Use in moderation – raises risk of heart disease
Monounsaturated fat – “good fat” – lowers bad blood cholesterol levels (LDL). May increase good cholesterol (HDL)
Polyunsaturated fat – “good fat” in moderation.
Trans-fat – “bad fat” created by artificial hydrogenation. Increases the risk of heart attack even in small quantities.
Cholesterol – found only in animal fats. Humans have cholesterol too, but it is mostly derived from saturated and trans-fats, not directly from animal cholesterol.
Omega-3 - polyunsaturated fat. Required in our diet. A quarter teaspoon a day. sources: leafy veggies, fish, fish oil, eggs, chicken.
Omega-6 – polyunsaturated fat. Required in our diet. sources: seed oils – soybean, safflower, sunflower or corn.
(Note: the right proportion between omega-6 and omega-3 intake is important. It should be 4:1, but in most western diets it is 10:1. That’s why we are all being encouraged to consume more omega-3.)
Omega-9 – polyunsaturated fat. good. sources: olive and nut oils.

Advanced:
Fatty acids – the building blocks of fat. The above terms refer to fatty acids (polyunsaturated fatty acid, omega-3 fatty acid, etc…)
Lipid – the scientific term for fat
Triglyceride – a combo of 3 fatty acids found in fat.

Sources:
What to Eat, Marion Nestle
American Heart Association

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  1. melanie levcovich
    November 24th, 2009 at 10:47 | #1

    Alot of food list modified oils in the ingredients is this the same as hydrogenated?

  2. December 14th, 2009 at 18:57 | #2

    Hi, Melanie are the mono-diglycerides in your bread an pork product?

  3. March 22nd, 2010 at 12:55 | #3

    Conjugated Linoleic Acid is a naturally occuring Trans fatty acid and its very healthy. It has anti-cancer properties. High levels of it are found in grass fed meat.

  4. WilliamB
    July 23rd, 2010 at 08:58 | #4

    My researches into the question of partially hydrogenated vs fully hydrogenated fats indicated that the fully hydrogenated fats are not trans fats, and therefore are only as unhealthy as other solid fats. Can you provide more backing for your statement that both types create trans fats (ideally something online so I can check it out)?

    Thank you.

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