Bad Fats Should Be Avoided

by Beth Hoover

What we eat is vital to our overall health and well-being. However, what we consume might somehow be unfavorable to our health also and can further lead to serious health conditions especially if we are unaware of how certain substances behave inside our bodies. This is what makes proper nutrition a vague topic in wellness and hence, a goal that seems impossible to achieve. What we can do to get proper nutrition and to gain more protection against the risks of diseases and threats of other health conditions is to be more aware of the foods we eat.

In achieving proper nutrition and more importantly a healthier body, the rule is very simple. Stay away from the unhealthy substances and consume the healthy ones only is the rule, as what many health and fitness experts would suggest.On the other hand, there exists this dilemma over some substances which can either be good for the body while at the same time can pose harm to our health. There are certain substances which are vital for our body and should be taken in regularly while there are also some substances that should be taken in certain amounts only.

There is no greater example of this dilemma over certain substances than the confusion that hangs over good fats and bad fats. Fats are crucial nutrients for our body and are needed in some of the important processes in our body. Fats play a vital role in nutrient absorption, nerve transmission, maintaining cell membrane integrity and other bodily processes which are very central in our overall health.While fats are vital nutrients for our body and play an important role in some of our bodily processes, too much fat intake; bad fats in particular, can cause serious health consequences such as heart diseases and uncontrolled weight gain.

To solve this confusion and create a fine line that can separate good fats from bad fats, we need to be more familiar with the fat list. The fat list can greatly help in becoming more aware on how to distinguish good fats from the bad ones and how these fats behave differently in our bodies.Moreover, this list can also provide vital information on the foods which we should stay away from since they contain too much fat.

Saturated and trans fats are unhealthy fats. Foods which have too much saturated fats and trans fat should not be consumed in large amounts since they are the types of fats which are unhealthy for our body. Saturated fat paves the way for the accumulation of cholesterol inside the body increasing the chances of developing cardio-vascular diseases.These unessential fats also can slowly increase our cholesterol levels which can be unfavorable to our health and can cause heart disease and obesity.

Foods from animal products including fatty meats, organ meats and some dairy products should not be consumed in large quantities since they contain too much saturated fats. Other foods that should we should stay away from are eggs, bacon, salami, sausages; all of which contain high levels of saturated fats. Products extracted from plants such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil might also contain high levels of saturated fats. Packaged food products and commercial fried foods such as French fries and microwaved popcorn are also not recommended for consumption since most of them contain hydrogenate liquid oils which helps in the formation of trans fatty acids.

Fats are crucial nutrients for our body and are needed in some of the important processes in our body. However, too much consumption of fats, bad fats in particular can cause serious health consequences such as heart diseases and uncontrolled weight gain. Saturated and trans fats in the fat list are unhealthy fats, therefore, foods that contain too much of these fats should be avoided if want to stay healthy and protected against the risks of heart disease and obesity.

Published June 1st, 2010

Filed in Food, Health, Weight Loss