Photo courtesy of Natasha/Happy Cookie Friday, Creative Commons.
So, now you know about saturated and unsaturated fats. Now, it is time to learn about the unsaturated fat from Hell: trans-fats. Trans-fats are bad. Buh-bye, the end.
What? You want to know why? And what on Earth hydrogenation is? I guess we can delve into this…It all starts in the 1890s in a chemistry lab somewhere in France…
Photo: Flickr Creative Commons
Last time I wrote about saturated fat, typically considered a bad egg in the fats family. In that respect, unsaturated fat is treated as the golden child. The American Heart Association recommends getting most dietary fat from sources of unsaturated fats, rather than saturated or trans-fats. The Mayo Clinic more or less recommends the same. So, let’s see what makes these fats so much more desirable. Continue reading
There is something strange that has been going on for a while in the food world–I remember it as a child of the nineties, and I know it has been going on much longer than that. It is the Fear of Fats and it needs to stop now.
This is the first in a three-part series on fats that will focus on saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and trans fats. I’m starting with saturated fats because who doesn’t love controversy (as I found out with the attention this post got)? And saturated fats have caused nothing if not controversy. Well, that and a significant amount of stress for parents trying to protect their children from poor health. But fats need not frighten– in some (unexpected) cases, they are even helpful. Continue reading
pretty healthy 