fats

Fats can be saturated or unsaturated. Animal fats, including dairy, coconut and palm kernel oil, are examples of saturated fats. They tend to be solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are categorized into mono or poly-unsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated fats include olive, canola, or peanut oil; vegetable fats, such as avocados, and many types of nuts - peanuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts and macadamias.

Polyunsaturated fats include corn, soy, sesame, and sunflower oils. Polyunsaturated oils, when heated at very high temperatures and hydrogenated, become trans-fats. Trans-fats have a longer shelf life before turning rancid, thus making them very attractive to packaged food manufacturers and processors. These fats are found in most packaged cookies, crackers and chips. Transfats are hazardous to our bodies.

On the other hand, Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s), another group of polyunsaturated fats, are responsible for all vital body functions. EFA’s regulate the fluidity of our blood, increase our immune function, and balance our cholesterol production. EFA’s insure proper growth, particularly our brains, fetal development, increase our mental acuity and renew our cells. These valuable fats are found in cold-water fish, sardines, flax and hemp seeds.