subject: The Science Of Obesity: Fats & Cholesterol [print this page] The Science Of Obesity: Fats & Cholesterol
For years we heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet would keep us healthy and help us lose weight.
And many of us jumped on the bandwagon, eliminating fat and high-cholesterol foods from our diets. Well, unfortunately, we were doing it all wrong.
Instead of eliminating fat completely, we should have been eliminating the "bad fats," the fats associated with obesity and heart disease and eating the "good fats", the fats that actually help improve blood cholesterol levels.
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Before we examine the good fats and bad fats, let's talk about cholesterol.
Cholesterol - It's been ingrained into our brains that cholesterol causes heart disease and that we should limit our intake of foods that contain it, but dietary cholesterol is different than blood cholesterol.
Cholesterol comes from two placesfirst, from food such as meat, eggs, and seafood, and second, from our body. Our liver makes this waxy substance and links it to carrier proteins called lipoproteins.
These lipoproteins dissolve the cholesterol in blood and carry it to all parts of your body. Our body needs cholesterol to help form cell membranes, some hormones, and Vitamin D.
You may have heard of "good" and "bad" cholesterol.
Well, high-density lipoproteins (HDL) carry cholesterol from the blood to the liver. The liver processes the cholesterol for elimination from the body. If there's HDL in the blood, then less cholesterol will be deposited in the coronary arteries. That's why it's called "good" cholesterol.
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL), carry cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. When there is too much in the body, it is deposited in the coronary arteries. This is not good. A build-up of cholesterol in our arteries could prevent blood from getting to parts of our heart.
That means that our heart won't get the oxygen and nutrients it needs, which could result in heart attack, stroke, or sudden death. So, if your LDL is higher than your HDL, you're at a greater risk for developing heart disease.
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It may come as a surprise, but recent studies have shown that the amount of cholesterol in our food is not strongly linked to our blood cholesterol levels.
It's the types of fats you eat that affect your blood cholesterol levels.
Bad Fats
There are two fats that you should limit your intake ofsaturated and trans fats.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are mostly animal fats. You find them in meat, whole-milk products, poultry skin, and egg yolks. Coconut oil also has a high amount of saturated fat. Saturated fats raise both the good and bad blood cholesterol.
