Understand Your Fats and Fiber

Throughout my writing we are going to discuss the different types of fats that are consumed on a daily basis. With all of the fats consumed, there are bad side effects and good side effects. By the end of my writing you will have a better understanding of what you are consuming.

According to Fats 101, there are four major fats that are found in the foods we eat. These four fats are called: saturated fats, transfats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. The unhealthy fats are saturated and transfats. The reason these two are considered unhealthy fats is because they can raise your cholesterol. While the healthy fats are listed as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. These two fats are considered healthy because can lower your cholesterol.

When people hear of fats, they think all fats are the same when they aren’t. According to the American Heart Association, saturated fats “have a chemical makeup in which the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen atoms. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature.” Unsaturated fat is the opposite of saturated fats. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. These types of fats usually come from plants such as peanuts, corn, etc. Hydrogenated fats are fats that are solid at room temperature. This process is used from hydrogen to make the fat hard. Most people aren’t common with this type of fat so an example of hydrogenated fat would be margarine. The last fat is trans-fatty acids. These types of fats are found in fried and processed foods. They are manufactured fats created through hydrogenation. Trans-fatty acids are harmful to the heart due to the amount of bad fat in them as well as certain types of cancers.

Having too much of too little fat in the body can cause damaging affects to yourself, whether it be short or long term affects. Being underweight can lead to problems with reproduction in women. While having too much fat in the body can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure,...