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Types of fats etc - what's bad and why?

7 replies

CherryChoc · 07/05/2009 22:01

I have a feeling this is going to sound stupid. But here we go.

Which types of fat are bad and which are good? And how do you tell what type of fat is in what things? Am interested for myself (I need to put on weight as have lost loads since DS birth) but also for DP (healthy weight although his diet is awful) and DS (7 months old).

Also same questions for sugars.. and in fact most things. All I know is I need DS to have no more than 1g of salt per day and how that translates into sodium.

OP posts:
sleepwhenidie · 07/05/2009 22:09

Sugar is pretty much always bad and anything obviously sugary should be kept to a minimum. Particularly when it comes to your DS, be aware of high levels of sugar in juice and dried fruits, more for the benefit for his teeth than general health I think.

I think the best way to keep salt intake down is to eat fresh food prepared yourself and try not to add any/too much. Anything processed (with the exception of most pre-prepared baby food) generally has pretty high levels of salt and so does food served in restaurants, whether its KFC or Gordon Ramsay!

The following is copied from a website...

BAD FATS
These include saturated and trans fats. Most children and adults in Britain are eating too much saturated fat. They are found in food like:

X Full fat dairy products such as cheese, butter, full fat milk and yoghurt

X Fatty red meat such as sausages, salami and luncheon meat

X Processed and fried food such as pies, pastries, pizzas and takeaways

X Cakes, biscuits and pastries

X Snacks such as crisps and nibbles

X Confectionary such as chocolate

Trans fats aren't always listed on food labels, but they are mostly found in foods containing hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated fats are used in processed foods like puddings, biscuits and other snacks. Look for the word 'hydrogenated' on the label and try to limit these foods

Good fats = Polynsaturated fats found in sunflower seeds, corn, soya beans and walnuts and their oils. Vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains are also good sources

Omega 3 oils found in oily fish like mackerel, pilchards, kippers, herring and fresh tuna. Everyone should eat at least two portions per week.

Mono unsaturated found in olive oil, rapeseed oil and some nuts like walnuts, peanuts and almonds

Plant sterols and stanols help lower cholesterol levels. Found in some margarines, milk and yoghurt products to which they have been added. Only recommended for adults.

Overmydeadbody · 07/05/2009 23:06

I'm sorry sleepy but "sugar is pretty much always bad" is the biggest load of twaddle I've read here all night.

I'm guessing what you mean is 'added refined sugar', but it ircs me that sugar is given such a bad press.

All the energy our bodies need and use is sugar. Without sugar, we die. It's that simple. No sugar = no energy for our cells. Sugar isn't evil, it's the quantities that are.

Remember, it's not the poison that kills, it's the dose.

All carbohydrates ar basically complex sugars. When we eat them , our bodies convert them into simple sugars (like breaking a big lego structure into the individual blocks), this takes time, which is why complex carbs are called slow-releasing or slow buring sugars by some. If you eat simple forms of sugar, glucose and fructose etc. (granulated sugar, sweets, juice, jam, you get the picture) they are fast relaeasing because our bodies don;t have to take so long converting them to simple sugars to be absorbed by the bloodstreem. In the case of glucose it's already in its simplest form, hence getting 'sugar rushes' from very seet food.

Sorry if I sounded narky, just don't appreciate the bad press sugar gets. Obviously added refined sugars and food containing lots of simple sugars should be monitored in our diets, for our teeth as well as our health, but children also benefit from getting some sort of sugar at regular intervals throughout the day.

Overmydeadbody · 07/05/2009 23:09

The best thing to do is steer clear of highly processed foods, with regard to fats, and limit your fat intake from aminal origin, while getting more of the oils found in plants and nuts and seeds.

thumbwitch · 07/05/2009 23:19

OMDB, you are right, but sugar per se is one food that we don't actually require in our diet as we can get all we need from the breakdown of carbohydrates.

I get fairly narked about the concept of fats being bad, if I'm honest - it just fuels the low-fat food brigade, which helps no one in the long run (except those with familial hypercholesterolaemia).

Having said that, trans fats are generally bad because they are artificial.

Saturated fats should be kept to a low
intake - but I would rather have a small amount of butter on my bread than any of these processed spreads. It is only fairly recently that they have cottoned on to the trans fat issue and changed their method of production - certain so-called polyunsaturated spreads probably caused more harm than good in their early days with the level of trans fats they contained.

Polyunsaturated oils are meant to be just that - oils, not solid fats.

I would say to you, cherrychoc, take everything in its most natural and unrefined form as you can get it; everything in moderation, nothing to excess, and nothing that is masquerading as something else.

As far as the salt/sodium is concerned, there is ~0.4g sodium in every gram of salt.

thumbwitch · 07/05/2009 23:26

sorry, just re-read your op.

Increase your protein intake if you want to put on healthy weight

Saturated fats tend to be in the more solid fatty foods, such as cheese and meat - anything that is solid fat at fridge temperatures will tend to be made up of more saturated fatty acids (although ALL food fats contain some level of oleic acid, the mono-unsaturated fatty acid which is 75%+ of olive oil). The more liquid something (NATURAL) is at fridge temperature, the more unsaturated the fatty acids are.

A good way to increase protein and keep the saturated fats down (and certainly helps me put on weight) is to eat nuts and/or seeds as a snack. Good for protein and polyunsaturated fatty acid content.

Overmydeadbody · 07/05/2009 23:29

yes I agree, if by sugar you mean that stuff we buy in packets that is labelled sugar

But, I like sugar, and sometimes need it, in the form of chocolate, in order to stay alive

thumbwitch · 07/05/2009 23:32

oh you'll get no argument from me on the chocolate front, OMDB - chocolate is an essential food group in its own right, as far as I am concerned!
I am quite happy to describe chocolate as a vegetable if necessary and defend it to the hilt!

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