Posts Tagged ‘fiber’

Solving Diet Mysteries: Good Fat vs. Bad Fat

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

good fat vs bad fatDieting can be overwhelming. Sorting through labels- calories, fiber, good fat vs. bad fat and doesn’t it seem like the information is always changing? The food that we put in our bodies is essential to how we feel and how our bodies look so it’s essential that we’re making healthy food choices.

In this article we’ll begin unraveling the mysteries of eating healthy, starting with fats. This article will give you a brief explanation of the four types of fats (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats), how they affect your body and the healthiest way to consume them.

Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are fats that stay solid at room temperature, such as lard, coconut oil and cow butter. Saturated fats are what dieticians consider “bad fats” because they raise your bad cholesterol level, thereby raising your total cholesterol level.

People whose diet consists of many foods high in saturated fats typically are at a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats have a lower melting temperature than saturated fats, which means that they do not stay solid at room temperature. These types of fats can be found in: peanut oil, olive oil, nuts and avocados.

Monounsaturated fats are what dieticians consider the “good fats” that lower bad cholesterol without lowering your levels of good cholesterol. In addition, monounsaturated fats help to prevent against cardiovascular disease.

Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fats are fats that can stay liquid even at lower temperatures, such as corn oil and sunflower oil. Polyunsaturated fats are also found in soybeans, fish, fish oil and in grain products.

Dieticians consider polyunsaturated fats the “good fats” as they lower cholesterol and they help prevent cardiovascular disease by lowering the amount of fat in the blood.

Trans Fats
Trans fats are man-made fats that are created during the hydrogenation process. These types of fats are unnatural and toxic to your body. Trans fats are abundant in packaged and processed foods.

Dieticians consider trans fats the “bad fats” as they can cause cancer, diabetes, obesity, birth defects, low birth weight babies, and sterility.

How Fats Affect You
Fats are essential to your overall health. Fats provide energy and certain types of vitamins and minerals can only be processed by your body when fats are present. Trying to eliminate fats from your diet can lead to problems like vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

According to NBC.com a common weight loss myth includes completely cutting fat out of your diet to achieve weight loss. While you should limit foods high in saturated fat, some fat is necessary to maintain a healthy body. There are indeed many good fats that are required for optimal health. Healthy fats play an important role in helping our bodies use vitamins D, E, A, and K. However, moderation is key and the amount of healthy fats that you need is dependent on the total number of calories you require for weight loss.

Most dieticians will recommend that no more than 10 percent of your daily calories come from saturated fats, with up to 10 percent coming from polyunsaturated fats and up to 15 percent coming from monounsaturated fats. No amount of trans fats are safe or are recommended on a daily basis.

Here are a few foods recommended by CNN.com that can help you in your quest to consuming good fat:

Avocado
Add a bit of avocado to a sandwich or spinach salad to increase the amount of heart-healthy fats to your diet. Packed with monounsaturated fat, avocados can help lower LDL levels while raising the amount of HDL cholesterol in your body.

Olive oil
Full of monounsaturated fats, olive oil lowers bad LDL cholesterol and reduces your risk of developing heart disease. Look for extra-virgin or virgin varieties — they’re the least processed — and use them instead of butter when cooking.

Nuts
Almonds, walnuts, and macadamia nuts are all full of omega-3 fatty acids and mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Almonds are rich in omega-3s, plus nuts increase fiber in the diet.

The best way to keep an eye on your daily fat intake is to be cautious of what you eat and to be a good label reader. This will help you to keep your dietary fats at a healthy level.

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Carbohydrate Health in an Unsalted Nutshell

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

It seems lately that carbs have been designated the dieters ultimate enemy- they’re not to be trusted and avoided at all times. So are carbs really that bad or are they just getting a bad rap? Achieving overall carbohydrate health is essential toward a balanced diet and total wellness.
2 carb image
In actuality not all carbs are as terrible as they’ve been touted. There are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates. Fortunately for us, it’s easy to achieve carbohydrate health and separate the good from the bad. As consumers we are able to reap health benefits associated with good carbs by choosing high-fiber carbs such as whole grains and vegetables and avoiding refined and processed carbs such as white bread and white rice.

To assume that all carbs are bad is unreasonable. Carbohydrates are needed fuel for our bodies. In a National Academies Institute of Medicine report from 2002, it recommends that in order for adults to meet the body’s daily nutritional needs while minimizing risk for chronic disease that they should get 45%-65% of their calories from carbohydrates. The same study also recommends that people focus on getting more good carbs with fiber into their diet.

According to WebMD we can reap health benefits of good carbs by choosing to consume carbohydrates full of fiber. Carbs that are naturally high in fiber slow down the absorption of other nutrients eaten at the same meal, including carbohydrates. This slowing prevents peaks and valleys in blood sugar levels, which reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes. Certain types of fiber found in oats, beans, and some fruits help to lower blood cholesterol and fiber also helps people feel fuller. This in turn, helps moderate the amount of food you eat. There is also evidence to suggest that a high fiber diet may also help to prevent colon cancer and promote weight control. In addition, studies show an increased risk for heart disease with low-fiber diets.

“Another important point about fiber-rich foods is that they tend to be loaded with phytochemicals that appear to have anticancer functions,” says Nagi Kumar, PhD and director of clinical nutrition at the Moffitt Cancer Center at the University of South Florida.

“Pertaining to cancer, we’ve found 65 or so non-nutrients and nutrients that have action against cancer,” she says. “We’ve seen soy, lycopene, bicarbanol, to name just a few of these, have significant effect against various cancers.”

Along with these benefits and its role in weight maintenance, fiber helps prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, appendicitis, and diverticulosis.

The easiest way to include fiber and all of its health benefits in your diet is to eat plant foods. Plants such as fruits and veggies are quality carbohydrates that are loaded with fiber. Besides fiber, plant foods also deliver vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals along with grams of carbohydrate, such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. Overall, a carb can’t be considered “good” without considering its fiber content.

Here are a few fiber recommendations from WebMD:
• Men aged 50 or younger should get 38 grams of fiber a day.
• Women aged 50 or younger should get 25 grams of fiber a day.
• Because we need fewer calories and food as we get older, men over aged 50 should get 30 grams of fiber a day.
• Women over aged 50 should get 21 grams of fiber a day.

Getting some fiber into almost every meal takes a little effort. Here are three tips:
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Just eating five servings a day of fruits and vegetables will get you to about 10 or more grams of fiber, depending on your choices.
• Include some beans and bean products in your diet. A half-cup of cooked beans will add from 4 to 8 grams of fiber to your day.
• Switch to whole grains every single possible way (buns, rolls, bread, tortillas, pasta, crackers, etc).

In a nutshell, carbohydrate health revolves around consuming plenty of high fiber carbohydrates and steering clear of bad carbs that strip away such beneficial fiber.

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