Dietary Fats

1. We hear a lot about “good” and “bad” fats in our diet these days. What does that mean? A recent article from a group of nutrition scientists from Harvard’s School of Public Health had this to say: “During the past several decades, reduction in fat intake has been the focus of national dietary recommendations. In the public’s mind, the words ‘dietary fat’ have become synonymous with obesity and heart disease, whereas the words ‘low-fat’ and ‘fat-free’ have been synonymous with heart health. It is now increasingly recognized that the low-fat campaign has been based on little scientific evidence and may have caused unintended health consequences.” This anti-fat revolution was in part due to poor interpretations of scientific studies and due to a misunderstanding by the public of what dietary fats really are.
2. You will have a better understanding of how to use dietary fats appropriately in your diet when you know more about what they are and what they do.

III.       We will learn what exactly a fat is and how our bodies use it, the different types of fat, sources of different fats, and how to read a nutrition label to find these fats.

1. To learn more about dietary fats, you first need to learn what a fat is and how our bodies use it.
2. Molecular structure
3. Uses in our body
4. What we do with excess

Now that we know what a fat is and what it does in our body, let’s investigate the different types of fats.

1. There are four different types of dietary fats.
2. Saturated
3. Trans
4. Poly / monounsaturated

Knowing what fat is and the different types of fat leads us to identifying where these fats come from.

1. Fats can come from a variety of sources and go by different names.
2. Poly/Monounsaturated food sources
3. Trans fat sources
4. How to read a label to know which is which

IV. Once you learn what fat is and what your body does with it, the different classifications of fat and the various sources of fats and how to identify them, then you will have a better understanding of dietary fats and how to apply them to your overall nutrition.

V. Whenever looking at new dietary findings, always learn as much as you can about what the information is and how to apply it correctly. When in doubt, read, ask questions, and use moderation.