Monounsaturated Fatty Acids
Monounsaturated fatty acids (monounsaturated fats) all have one double bond between one pair of carbons in a chain, and they typically remain liquid at extremely low temperatures.
Polyunsaturated fats can be found in mostly in foods such as grain products, fish and sea food (herring, salmon, mackerel and halibut), soybeans and fish oil. Furthermore foods such as mayonnaise and soft margarine are also good sources of polyunsaturated fats; however this can sometimes depend on the brand and type of the products, as the nutritional facts tend to vary. Despite this, other good sources polyunsaturated fats include cereals, whole grain wheat, peanut butter, bananas, and sunflower seeds.
Polyunsaturated fats, like monounsaturated fats can also have an beneficial effect on health when they are consumed in moderation or when they are used to replace saturated fats or trans fats. They can also help to reduce blood cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease. Polyunsaturated fats, also include essential fats that the body needs and cannot produce itself, these essential fats include omega 6 and omega 3. Both omega 3 and omega 6, play a vital role in brain function as well as the normal growth and development of the body.
Omega 3
Polyunsaturated fats divide into two groups of fatty acids, being omega 3 and omega 6. There are several types of omega 3, such as long chain omega 3’s called EPA and DHA, which are the ones that are most commonly found in oily fish.
Omega 3 can be found in many foods, with the best source coming from fish, but other sources being soya, hemp, flax, walnuts, leafy green vegetables and pumpkin seeds and oils. Omega 3 can also be found in organic milk, with the sales of this product soaring, after a study found they there are higher levels of omega 3 in organics milk and non-organic milk. There has also been an increase in the amount of different foods that have omega 3 added to them, these foods include spreads, juices and milk, which are artificially enriched with fish oils, and are now widely available.
Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, omega 3 ahs been linked with the prevention and treatment of a whole host of health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis, depression/bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, skin disorders, asthma, and breast, colon and prostate cancers.
Long chain omega 3 contains anti-inflammatory properties that are good for joints and aches, with lots evidence showing that they can help to reduce the risk of heart disease. They can also help with the development of brain tissue, nerve growth and retina in unborn babies. In addition, there is new evidence that long chain omega 3, in oil-rich fish, as part of a health lifestyle can help to maintain heart health. As throughout life, omega 3 is needed to maintain health bodily functions and is also needed for cell membranes and physiological functions.
Omega 3 can play a key role in helping to maintain a healthy heart, as it helps to lower blood pressure, protect against sudden cardiac death, lowers the levels of blood fats, prevents against fatal blood clots, helps to maintain blood vessel dilation, improves the insulin sensitivity, reduces the risk of hardening of arties, as well as having anti-inflammatory effects such as, increasing plaque stability on artery walls so that they are less likely to rupture.
Trans Fatty acids
Trans fatty acids (trans fats) are created when oils are hydrogenated, this chemically transforms them from their normal liquid state into solids. During this hydrogenation process extra hydrogen atoms are pumped into unsaturated fat, and in doing so creating trans fats. This process converts the mixture into saturated fats, which wipes out its polyunsaturated benefits.
Any food with “hydrogenated oils” or “partially hydrogenated oils” on the label contains trans fatty acids with partially hydrogenation increasing product shelf life and decreasing refrigeration requirements, which is an advantage for production companies. Trans fat can be found in a variety of processed foods including cookies and margarines, but are also found in shortenings commonly used for deep fat frying in restaurants.
Some researchers believe such foods containing high proportions of trans fats can be more damaging than regular saturated fats, for those which high cholesterol, or those who are watching their cholesterol levels. They also believe that trans fats reduce the good (HDL) cholesterol, and increase the bad (LDLs) with an high HDL cholesterol levels, helping to fight heart disease, therefore by eating trans fat a person’s a risk of coronary heart disease would be increased.
Although there is no true scientific agreement that by eating trans fat can significantly increase the risk of cancer, the American Cancer Society, does state that there is a relationship between trans fats can cancer.
Furthermore, there is also a growing concern that of type 2 diabetes, can be increased with the consumption of trans fats, however no agreement as has been reached about this concern. Studies surroundings this health concern is inconclusive, as one study found that risk of type 2 diabetes was higher than those who ate a higher proportion of trans fats. The other study found that there was no diabetes risk once other factors such as total fat intake and BMI were taken into account.
There has been research to show that there is a link between trans fat and obesity, with some research indicating that trans fat can increase weight grain and stomach fat. With a six year experiment revealing that monkeys feed on a trans fat diet gained a 7.2% of their body weight, as compared to 1.8% for monkey’s on a monounsaturated fat diet. Despite, obesity being regularly related to trans fat in the media, in the context of eating too many calories per a day, there is no scientific consensus linking trans fat and obesity.
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