Fat has gotten a bad reputation. Read an article about how bad a particular food is for you and you will most likely see a reference to how many grams of fat it contains. Read dietary guidelines from any number of reputable sources and you will be told to lower your fat and calorie intake. There’s just enough truth in the low fat concept to be confusing.

The problem started when the University of Minnesota published a study in 1970 titled Seven Countries Study that found that the typical American diet, rich in red meats, cheese and margarine had a much higher incidence of heart disease than countries that featured diets rich in whole grains, fish, fruits, beans and vegetables.

The, not unreasonable, conclusion the researchers came to was that it was fat in the American diet that was the culprit in the higher heart disease rate. That conclusion was not unreasonable but unfortunately wrong. And that error has informed over 30 years of dietary guidelines.

Yes, the Asian diets were low in fat, however, it turns out that the Mediterranean diet, which has gained a great deal of credibility with both heart specialists and weight loss experts is not a low fat diet. It’s just low in bad fats. It does contain a healthy dose of good ones.

What researchers are now realizing is that total fat content is not the problem but the kinds of fat we consume. Put simply, there are good fats and bad fats. We all know the problems with bad fat, increased risk of heart attack and strokes as well as weight gain. Eaten in moderate amounts, the good fats actually reverse many of these problems.

Good fats include monounsaturated fats and those containing Omega 3 oils.

Bad fats are hydrogenated oils, which are trans fats. They were a mainstay of the American diet during the study period, and are only now being phased out if processed foods.

Semi-bad fats include saturate fats derived from animal products like red meat and cheese. Cheese is a mainstay in most Mediterranean countries and it appears that consumed in small amounts is not harmful.

Neutral fats include other non-hydrogenated vegetable oils and eggs. A recent analysis of recent cholesterol published by Nutrition & Dietetics: The Journal of the DietitiansAssociation of Australia has shown that daily consumption of eggs does no raise risk of heart attack.

If the nutritional label on a food item says 0 Trans Fats, then hydrogenate oils have been replace by healthier ones.

What is a Trans Fat?

Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil – a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats.

Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine. A small amount of trans fat is found naturally, primarily in some animal-based foods.

Trans fat, like saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, raises the LDL cholesterol that increases your risk for coronary heard disease (CHD). Americans consume on average 4 to 5 times as much saturated fat as trans fat in their diets. Source is the FDA

So, we know that some kinds of fats are unhealthy. What does this have to do with weight loss? It turns out that consumption of trans fats causes selective weight gain around the belly, which is associated with coronary risk factors.

Fortunately, the news here is good. As more and more governments follow the lead of New York City and California in banning trans fats, and as people learn about the health risks of trans fats that problem should eventually become minimal.

For now, you can look for products in the grocery store that display 0 trans fats or no hydrogenated oils on the label.

Healthy Fats

Monounsaturated Fats

Just as there are fats that are bad for us, there are also fats that are good. Olive and canola oils, can lower cholesterol. Both are monounsaturated fats, a category that includes some nuts, olives, dark chocolate, and avocados. Make sure that you get cold or expeller pressed canola oil and extra-virgin olive oils to avoid the trans fat problems. Simply adding monounsaturated fats to your diet doesn’t seem to help. You will need to replace the polyunsaturated and saturated fats in your diet to benefit.

Prevention Magazine has published a book, titled the Belly Fat Diet that outlines how eating monounsaturated fats with every meal and limiting calorie intake can selectively speed up weight loss of belly fat.

Omega 3 Fats

Another category of fats that are good for us are Omega 3 fats, or fatty acids, which are essential to health and cannot be manufactured by the body. Omega-3 fatty acids are not one single nutrient, but a collection of several, including eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). Both are found in greatest abundance in coldwater fish. In addition to the cholesterol benefits gained from monounsaturated fats, omega 3 fats also offer other substantial health benefits. The benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease.

Possible sources for Omega 3 fats include fish and krill oils as flax seed oils. Some manufacturers are including Omega 3 fats in butter substitute spreads.

So, some fats are bad for us and some are good. But, what do fats have to do with weight loss?

The Low Fat Myth

There are a couple of problems associated with fats that have to be considered in any weight loss program. But fats themselves are not evil.

Fats are Calorie Dense

There are problems associated with high fat diets. Fats are over twice as calorie dense and proteins and carbohydrates. So a one ounce slice of cheese will have twice the calories of a one ounce slice of bread.

But there seems to be some kind of magical thinking that many people associated with weight loss fall victim to. Fats do not automatically pass from your mouth to your belly or hips. They are digested and are subject to a complex series of chemical processes that break them down before they enter the blood system. Only unused calories from fat get deposited in our bodies as fat again. So the problem with fats in the diet is not that fat itself is bad but that fat has more calories than other food types.

If your total caloric intake is less than what your body burns then fats are not a problem.

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