Fats in Your Diet.
Summary:
- Decrease saturated fats in your diet while replacing them with mainly PUFAs(Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids) or MUFAs (Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acids), this will decrease bad cholesterol and total cholesterol.
- Trans fats are unsaturated but NOT good for you, lower these in your diet as well.
- Consider taking Omega III supplements with any caloric restriction diet
Description:
It’s true what you’ve heard: Saturated fats are the devil. Okay, so they might not be evil incarnate, but they are neither a necessity in large quantities nor are they doing any good for your diet, in excess. I’d like to run down some reasons for why you should consider increasing the amount of unsaturated fats while decreasing the amount of saturated fats. As it is very difficult to run a diet that is too low in saturated fats, I won’t discuss having too little. By using some of the oils below, you’ll be getting saturated fats with your PUFAs and MUFAs, which will give you all that you should need. I’ll also give you some tips at the end of this article for options with good fats (Yes, there are good fats out there!).
First of all, why are excess saturated fats bad?
Saturated fats increase plasma cholesterol by decreasing LDL receptors. Decreasing LDL receptors decreases the amount of cholesterol that is taken up from the blood, which is some of the source of the higher plasma LDL and cholesterol. If you remember, LDL is the “bad cholesterol” and HDL is the “good cholesterol”. Another problem with decreasing those receptors is that you increase the synthesis of HMG-Coa Reductase and its activity, which pumps out even more cholesterol and stores/creates more fat in your adipose tissue.
Why are unsaturated fats better?
Unsaturated fatty acids are much better for you than saturated fats. First of all, unsaturated fats bind to a class of proteins called SREBPs (Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Proteins). These proteins normally bind to SREs (Sterol Regulatory Elements, parts of your DNA) in your DNA that increase things like Fatty Acid Synthase, which increases the creation of fatty acids. If you’re following me here, in more simple terms: Too much SREBPs are bad, they bind to bad things, and increase the amount of bad stuff that make you fat. Unsaturated fats bind to SREBPs and stop them from working like they are supposed to. This is a good thing.
But trans fats are unsaturated, why are they bad?
As humans, we are equipped with machinery that deals with cis-unsaturated fatty acids. We weren’t built to handle trans fats that do not occur in nature. Trans-fats look more like saturated fats, because their kink in the chain doesn’t cause a turn like cis-unsaturated fats do. In this way, they act more like saturated fats. In addition to this, we do not have the enzymes that break down trans-fats well, which creates a problem for us, and may create a situation that increases inflammation, decreases liver health and increases adipose insulin resistance (Another potent stimulator of lipidogenesis) according to some studies (1).
What kinds of foods can I get that have low saturated and trans fats, with higher unsaturated fats?
I’m glad you asked! Here is an ordered list of some better things you can eat or complement a meal with (Those things toward the bottom are worse, and toward the top are better for you):
Consider substituting things like regular Mayonnaise with the new Canola Oil(No cholesterol or appreciable saturated fats) or Vegetable Oil Mayonnaise, which is much better than the use of Real Mayonnaise. I’ll leave off with saying that this is a process that requires looking at the labels, and deciding how you can make the most impactful changes. Remember that fats tend to be calorie dense, and it goes without saying that you should be mindful of the total number of calories you consume in a meal, as well as the types of calories.
Lastly, before you run away from fats, replacing them with high-fructose corn-syrup or other refined sugars is potentially a worse idea. Remember to balance the types of fats, and if you are going to replace your fats with another macronutrient, consider protein first, with complex carbs being last, refined sugars should not be an option.
With that, best of luck as you move forward toward your goals, we’re rooting for you, always.
Works Cited:
1) Sean W. P. Koppe, Marc Elias, Richard H. Moseley, and Richard M. Green. “Trans fat feeting results in higher serum alanine aminotransferase ad increased insulin resistance compared with a standard murine high-fat diet.” Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 297: G378-G384, 2009.
2) Some sources are not presented, as they are common knowledge in the biochemistry field.
Posted By Josh | Comments 0 | Add Comment | Tags: diet, fats