FATS

1) Are all fats bad for you?
Definitely not. Certain fats and oils are necessary to create and maintain healthy cells in your body. Along with carbohydrates and proteins, they are needed to fuel your body.

Some fats are essential nutrients required for good health while others are harmful. The type of oils found in fish and flax seed (among others) are examples of beneficial oils. All trans fats and hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats or oils are detrimental to human health. On the other hand, saturated fats have gotten a bad rap; not all of them are harmful. For example, butter is far healther than margarines containing hydrogenated oils, while natural unprocessed coconut oil is actually healthful.

Another health-determining factor is how an oil has been processed during manufacturing (e.g., was it chemically extracted or mechanically pressed? was it exposed to light or heat?). Furthermore, an otherwise healthy oil can be misued in food preparation (unsaturated oils should not be heated to high temperatures). Finally, the balance of different types of fats consumed also determines the positive or negative impact on one’s body.

2) What's the difference between saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats?
Fats are categorized into saturated and unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. Some common examples are animal fats and tropical oils such as palm oil.

Unsaturated fats consist of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. These fats exist in a liquid state at room temperature and are promoted as the "good" oils, especially in the case of monounsaturated fats. Common examples of polyunsaturated fats include safflower, sunflower, sesame and corn oils. Monounsaturated fats are found in foods such as olive, almond, avocado, peanut, and canola oils. Although these oils are generally healthier than polyunsaturated oils, one must still consider how the oils have been treated and how they are used in food preparation before determining how beneficial or detrimental they are to one's diet.

As a general rule, unsaturated fats are less stable than saturated fats and tend to break down when exposed to high temperature. The by-products of heat-induced break down are unhealthy. Conversely saturated fats tolerate high temperatures better, which is why commercial frying oil often contains lard (beef or pork fat).

3) What are hydrogenated or trans fats? Why are they dangerous?
"Trans fats" refers to trans fatty acids which are created during the hydrogenation of liquid or polyunsaturated oils such as soy bean and cottonseed oils. During this process, hydrogen atoms are added to these unsaturated oils (thus the term "hydrogenated"), in effect making them saturated. This is done to raise their melting point enough to make them solid at room temperature and to increase their stability, resulting in a longer product shelf life. Hydrogenation is harmful because the molecules created are unnatural and do not work properly in your body's cells when your body is forced to use them. The FDA has stated that the only safe limit on trans fat intake is zero.

Trans fats are often used in products like crackers and cookies to achieve a desired texture (such as crispness) in addition to a longer shelf life. They also cost less than the premium traditional ingredients used for these purposes in the past, namely butter and tropical oils.

4) What are expeller-pressed oils?
Expeller-pressed oils are those that are extracted from their seed or plant by mechanical pressing without the use of chemicals, as opposed to most commercial oils that are extracted using petroleum-based chemical solvents. The chemical extraction process requires a distillation step at high temperatures (400-500 degrees F) to remove the solvent. This high heat destroys much of the nutritional content of the oil and can start breaking down polyunsaturated oils. Conversely, cold expeller-pressed oils retain their nutrient content and are certain to be free of chemical solvents.

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