Not All Fats are Created Evil

[Scheizekopf]

Not all fats are created evil (I like the title)

Another sign that the nonfat nineties are coming to a close: Savoring "good" fats may lower men's risk of prostate cancer. A recent study of 58,279 men ages 55 to 69 published in the journal Cancer found that those who ate foods high in linoleic and linolenic acids (also known as Omega-3 fatty acids) were less likely to develop prostate cancer. This is the latest round of good news for benevolent fats since a landmark 1997 Harvard study found that the type of fat—monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated—eaten may be more important than the quantity consumed when it comes to preventing heart disease in women. (Saturated fats and trans fats are the villianous ones that raise blood-cholesterol levels, while polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats lower cholesterol levels.)

Good Fats

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, flaxseed, and cotton seed oils, fatty fish, almonds, walnuts, peanut butter, soybeans, spinach, and mustard greens

Polyunsaturates Safflower, soybean, corn, sunflower oils, pumpkin seeds and oils, and also fish

Monounsaturates Olive oil, canola oil, avocados, peanuts and olives

Bad Fats

Saturated Fats Red meat, poultry, butter, cheese, palm and coconut oils

Trans Fats Some margarines, vegetable shortenings, canned soups, packaged cookies, crackers, processed foods and fried fast food (Look for the words partially hydrogenated before oils in the ingredients)


Do you know how to detect the good, the bad, and the oily? As a rule, the more solid a fat is at room temperature, the more saturated, or "bad," it is. Butter, for example, is at the saturated end of the spectrum; vegetable shortenings and certain margarines can fall into the trans fats category; olive oil and peanut oil are mostly monounsatured (i.e., "good"); and corn and sunflower oils are the "really good" fats, at the polyunsatured end of the spectrum.

How much fat should I eat?
There is a debate going on in the health community over whether you need to lower total fat intake or just replace bad fats with good ones to get health benefits. For now, it's probably safest to stick to the government's guidelines: Get no more than 30 percent of your total calories from fat. (The American Heart Association says you can go over that 30 percent slightly if you're eating all good fats and no bad fats.) Finally, keep in mind that all fats, good or bad, are high in calories—about 120 calories per tablespoon.

- Mary Christ

[Studmuffin]

Hurray for Peanutbutter