Not All Fats Are Created Equal

Fat digestion begins mechanically in the mouth, but only a small amount actually breaks down there. On the way down the digestive tract the stomach grabs about 10%, with the help of the enzymes and stomach acids. Most of the metablism of fats though comes during the digestion in the small intestine.

An important and interesting fact is how fat reacts in the body with excess sugars. The body will turn these sugars into sticky and degenerative fats. Excess glucose, not used by the body for enegy will be stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. The excess amounts of glycogen not used by the liver are then released as triglicerides and dumped into the blood system and stored as fat. Fat is a carrier of toxins, the body stores them. So it is very important to choose your fats wisely.

Healthy fats feed the brain (the brain is made of 60% fat) and the body’s cells, The roles fatty acids accomplish are; promoting energy, carrying nutrients throughout the body, helping the body to maintain its temperatures, and helping in the many roles of metabolism. Fatty acids are one of the outstanding ways the body achieves its cell integrity and permeability. What that means is fats have a premier role in your body’y abilities to absorb and use the good foods that you eat, right down to the cellular level. Wow!

Fats taste good, I won’t deny that. God made those taste buds for a good reason; enhancing the taste buds on the tongue to allow the flavors to spread around the palate so we can fully savor our foods. He wants us to enjoy our foods and stay healthy at the same time.

Good healthy fats are: saturated fats, monosaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. This category consists of healing fats; and also hydrogenated fats and trans fats, the latter two are the killer fats. And believe it or not cholestrol is an important ingredient that our body needs to maintain optimal health. Actually cholestrol is refered to as a fat but a alcohol molecule that behaves like a fat. But it is needed by the body for its metabolic processes.

Most people think that saturated fats are “bad” and unsaturated are “good” fats. Saturated fats usually come from animal products, but coconut is actually a saturated fat. Unsaturated fats comes from plant sources, which doesn’t always mean that it is good for your health. Certian types of plant seeds such as corn, peanut, safflower and sunflower are highly inflammatory oils because of their processing. These are best avoided for health reasons.

Listing of good fats: butter, ghee, tallow, coconut milk and coconut oil, avocados and avocado oil, olive oil, fish oil and MCT oil (medium chain triglyerides), Omega 3 fatty acids.

Listing of bad fats: canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, margarine, cottonseed oil, and peanut oil. Most of these are considered as trans fats due to their processing practices. (I will do a future article just on hydrogenated and trans fats, their processing, what makes them killer fats and what they do to the body).
Stay tuned!