So today – Fats 101, or “life in the fat lane.” This might be a little tedious, but hang in there. Understanding the difference between saturated fats and unsaturated fats is important. The building blocks of fats are fatty acids – a chain of carbon molecules with a bunch of hydrogen molecules sticking off from them. The only difference between saturated and unsaturated is that unsaturated have double bonds. But this difference is huge. Saturated fats are like bricks, they build walls around every cell in the body. Unsaturated fats also help to build the wall, but because of the double bonds, they bend – they look like the letter S. Saturated gives a solid structure, unsaturated gives fluidity and allows openings. Together they provide protection and movement, and allow necessary substances to enter and exit the cell. We live and die by what gets in and out of the cell. A balance is critical. If you understand this, and realize that some fats are necessary, some are dangerous, and you need to choose wisely – you will be much healthier. Most people have been so deceived by both their health care providers and the manufacturing industry that they continually choose the wrong dangerous fats. Examples are margarine and all of the polyunsaturated oils (corn, sunflower, canola, soybean, and safflower). The leading causes of death in the US are heart disease and cancer. Both are linked to improper fat and oil intake. This healthy balance is achieved primarily by what we put and don’t put in our mouths. By the time we are done, you will know exactly what the good and the bad are. Next week we need to look more at saturated fats – forget all this wall building, they are bad aren’t they? My doctor said so. They cause heart disease don’t they? Isn’t a low fat diet good? Doesn’t that diet lower the evil cholesterol? That steak, egg, and butter all belong to the dark side. Right??
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:16:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015