Girls, are you Fat?

Are all types of fat the same? The answer is NO. Except for the amount of calories, they are not created equal. Some fats are more harmful to your health than others. Two of the most harmful culprits that can increase a person’s risk of heart disease are saturated fat and trans fat and experts believe that trans fat may carry an even greater health risk than saturated fat.

Saturated and trans fats are solid at room temperature - like butter, shortening, or the fat on meat. Saturated fat comes mostly from animal products, but some tropical oils, like palm kernel oil and coconut oil, also contain saturated fat.

Trans fat is also found in whole dairy and meat products. However, one of the most common sources of trans fat in today's foods is hydrogenated vegetable oil. Hydrogenated oils are liquid oils that have been changed into a solid form of fat by adding hydrogen. This process allows these fats to be kept for a long time without losing their flavour or going bad. Trans fats are often found in packaged baked goods, like cookies, crackers or potato chips. They are also in fried foods like french fries and doughnuts. Since saturated fat and trans fat are tied to heart disease, a gram of one of these fats is worse for a person's health than a gram of unsaturated fat.

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats can be polyunsaturated or monounsaturated. Polyunsaturated fat is found in soybean, corn, sesame and sunflower oils, or fish and fish oil. Monounsaturated fat is found in olives, olive oil or canola oil, most nuts and their oils, and avocados.

Regardless of their types, the Food Guide Pyramid shows that fats should be consumed sparingly. The American Heart Association recommends people to get as much of their daily fat intake as possible from unsaturated fats and that they limit saturated fats and trans fats or at least keep their consumption of these fats to no more than 10% of their daily diet.

Ps: So girls! If you think its easy for you to avoid Fat, i think you in wrong world.