Question of the week: Good Fats???

The following question was posted by one of my readers, " I have pre-diabetes and am confused about fats. A friend was telling me there are "healthier fats" I should be including in my diet. I thought all fats were bad? Could you tell me which fats I should include in my diet (if any)?"

Your friend is correct. When including fats in your diet, there are definitely fats that are better choices than others.

Fats play an important role in the body. Fat is essential for the proper functioning of the body. Fats provide essential fatty acids, which must be obtained from food. The essential fatty acids are linoleic and linolenic acid. They are necessary for controlling inflammation, blood clotting, and brain development.

Fat functions as the storage substance for the body's extra calories. It is also an insulator and an important energy source. Healthy skin and hair are maintained by fat. Fat helps the body absorb and move the vitamins A, D, E, and K through the bloodstream.

There are several types of fats:

The "healthier" fats are the unsaturated fats. There are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Despite being healthy, it is still important to watch your portion sizes when consuming these healthy fats.

First there are the monounsaturated fats that include, but are not limited to, avocados, oils (i.e. canola, olive, peanut, or sesame), nuts (such as almonds and cashews), olives, and all-natural peanut butter (unprocessed).

Polyunsaturated fats include oils (i.e. corn, safflower, soybean, and cottonseed), walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and fish.

The fats that we need to reduce, or better yet, eliminate from our diets are the saturated and transfats.

Saturated fats are the biggest dietary cause of high LDL levels or bad cholesterol"). When looking at a food label, pay very close attention to the percentage of saturated fat and avoid or limit any foods that are high. Saturated fat should be limited to 10% of calories. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream, and fatty meats. They are also found in some vegetable oils -- coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils.

Transfats form when a vegetable oil hardens (hydrogenation) and can increase LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. They can also reduce HDL levels ("good cholesterol"). Trans fatty acids are found in fried foods, commercial baked goods (donuts, cookies, crackers), processed foods, and margarines. Key words on food labels which indicate transfats are "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated". Transfats have been linked to heart disease.

Source: Medline Plus

Butter vs. Margarine - Which is better?

A blog-reader wrote and posed the question today, "Is margarine healthier than butter"?

The answer is "it depends".

Despite the fat that butter is an "animal product" and is made of fat and contains cholesterol as well as high levels of saturated fat, some margarines contain transfats which are just as unhealthy.

In order to make the "better" choice, you need to read and understand the product labels. The areas of the label that you need to take special note of are the fats and cholesterol.


Most margarines are made of vegetable oils however not all margarines are created equal. The "good fats" to see on the label would be marked polyunsaturated and monounsaturated - these types of fats help reduce one's "bad" cholesterol or LDL levels. However, some margarines consist of saturated and/or transfats which can prove even worse than butter.

When a process called "hydrogenation" is implemented during manufacturing to make the margarine into more of a solid state (*i.e. stick margarines in general although tub margarines may have it as well), the more transfats it will have. Transfats behave just like saturated fats causing increases in blood fats and cholesterol and increase one's risk of heart disease. Additionally, transfats may lower levels of "good" cholesterol or "HDL" levels.

When choosing a margarine, read your ingredient labels carefully and choose the one with the lowest possible amount of transfats available as well as one with less than 2 grams of total saturated fat. If you can find a margarine that contains plant sterols that is positive. This is an ingredient that companies are starting to fortify their products with that has been found to help lower LDL (bad) levels.

If you prefer the taste of butter over margarine, it is better to choice a variety that is either whipped or light. Also important that if you choose to use butter or any other type of margarine products, that you use them sparingly.