Simple facts about saturated / unsaturated / transfatty acids (TFA)
SATURATED FAT CAUSES ARTEROSCLEROSIS
SOURCES
| ANIMALS | PLANTS |
| Beef, Beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk | coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter |
TRANS UNSATURATED FATTY ACIS (TFA) CAUSES ATHEROSCLEROSIS
SOURCES
| NATURAL | PROCESSED FOOD |
| beef, pork, lamb and the butterfat in butter and milk | making margarine, shortening, cooking oils cookies and white bread |
TFA IS MORE ATHEROGENIC THAN SATURATED FAT (CAUSES MORE DAMAGE)
UNSATURATED FAT DOES NOT CAUSE ATHEROSCLEROSIS
| SOURCES | salmon, trout, herring, avocados, olives, walnuts and liquid vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, safflower, canola, olive and sunflower |
Unsaturated fat = polyunsaturated fats + monounsaturated fats
Replacing saturated and TFA with unsaturated fat helps reduce blood cholesterol levels
American Heart Association recommends
Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables wholegrain, high fibre foods and fat free and low fat diary most often
Keep total fat intake between 25 to 35% of calories (mainly mono and poly unsaturated fats)
TFA less than 1% Calories
To reduce TFA in diet
Look for food labeled ZERO TFA
Use unhydrogenated vegetable oils (canola, sunflower or olive oil)
Soft margarine instead of harder stick forms and butter
Limit these
High TFA
French fries
Doughnuts
Cookies
Muffins
Pies
Cakes
Limit Saturated Fats = Limit TFA
Limit commercially fried foods – has large amount of Saturated Fats and TFA
