FATS: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Hello Wednesday,
You are my favorite day of the week-almost like the glass half empty and half full-the week is both half over and half begun. So many excited things to look forward to...Woohoo! I will be having a Raw food Holiday Gathering at my apartment~and the end of my semester at school and the beginning of my juice feast are nearly 2 weeks from NOW.
I was asked a question by a friend in class about Fats. What do they do in our bodies and why do we need them and where can we get them in our diets??
Here you have it ladies and gentleman-the most feared nutrient..Dundundun...FAT!

The ROLES Of fat in our bodies!
*Cushioning and insulation: Fat cushions our nerves, organs, tissues and cells from bumping around and getting damaged. It also serves as insulation in order to keep us warm. This is why animals gain weight in the winter-we are programmed by nature to do this in order to keep our bodies warm when it gets cold outside.
*Hormone regulation-cholesterol is made in our bodies and is actually a precursor for many of our hormones including estrogen and progesterone which are needed by women to become pregnant and maintain pregnancy. It is also helpful to keep our hormones balanced so that we don't have huge mood swings.
*Lubricate and soften our skin so that it appears smooth and soft.
*Energy-during times of exercise or fasting our bodies tap into this stored energy for fuel. Without it you would not be able sleep through the night without food or exercise or do a fast.

Are all fats CREATED EQUAL??
NOPE
There are 3 different types of dietary fat:
Unsaturated: THE GOOD
Mono and Poly-unsaturated fats are found in nuts, seeds, legumes, olives, avocados, olive oil, canola oil, flaxseeds, chia seeds...basically any fat that is plant derived. Unsaturated means that a long chain of carbons C-C-C-C-C-C-C-... usually 16 or 18 carbons long has no Hydrogens on it so at room temperature is is a liquid. Well in your body it is ALSO a liquid so it is free to flow and does not clog or block arteries!
Saturated: THE BAD
Found in ALL animal products. EVEN milk, yogurt, cheese and eggs have saturated fat even if that skim milk says NO fat it will always have some. Animal products also always contain cholesterol! This Fat is comprised of a long chain of C's BUT on all the C's is a Hydrogen. This hardens the fat so that it is solid at room temperature. Therefore solid in your cells, blood, tissues-you can see the damage that it can cause on your heart. When fat accumulates in your heart this is called plaque and can make it difficult for the heart to receive and pump fresh blood through therefore your cells and tissues cannot receive nutrients and oxygen!
The only exception is: COCONUTS
***Coconuts are a good source of Saturated fat naturally occurring in Nature. Coconut also contains unsaturated fats. It contains antioxidants and actually has several amazing properties that have been shown to do anything from curb appetite to prevent cancers. Because Coconuts are natural, our bodies are able to break this saturated fat down so that it can become liquid in our bodies and although coconuts are solid at normal room temp they have a very low melting point. Once the oil is heated above 70 degrees it becomes liquid...our internal body temps are about 98 degrees!
TRANS FAT: THE UGLY
This is the scary stuff! Trans fats are found in most processed foods. Foods are "hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated" for many reasons.
*Makes foods more shelf stable-fats go rancid less easily*
*Makes fats more solid*
*Makes fats easier to ship across the country because they are solid instead or liquid.*
How does this happen?
An unsaturated fat (C-C-C-C-C...) is pumped full of Hydrogens to make it solid
The problem-our bodies do not know how to break those Hydrogens off once that fat gets into our bodies and stays hard and solid in our cells and tissues.
A food that you would normally suspect doesn't have saturated fats may in fact have them in the form of TRANS FATS.

Moral of the story: Get your fats from plant based sources by consuming a diet of predominantly fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Don't be afraid of fat because dietary fat does not equal fat on your body!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments??

Any ideas for my next topic tomorrow?
Rawkn Yogini~