Know your Fats! By Mathew DeSanno

All month we have been discussing the importance of paying attention to food lables!

Food labels can be tricky as there is no one standard for what a serving size constitutes.

Companies are allowed to make a serving size as big or as small as they want and sometimes this is done on purpose to make it look like the product is not calorically dense...unfair I know!

But what are you to do? There is so much misinformation out there and every where you look there is more conflicting thoughts and ideas that it will make your head spin!

Lucky for you, we have this guide that we use for educating our students in our TFW Hicksville facility that you can use to become the healthiest (and leanest you) possible!

First things first, Know your fat names!

 We have saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fats.

 At first these seem like complicated scientific names but they are actually really easy to understand!

Saturated Fat: Found in most animals, saturated fats get their name from being broken up and saturated with hydrogen molecules.

Diets high in saturated fat are thought to be linked to heart disease and high blood pressure but they shouldn't be avoided. Saturated fats are the building blocks our sex hormones...which have obvious benefits!

How much should you be ingesting?

Based on the presumption that you are following a lower carb diet like our Warrior 20 then saturated fat should make up around 7% of your Total fat intake (which should be 25-35% of your total calories)


Polyunsaturated Fats: They are considered to be unsaturated due to the presence of multiple double bonds (hence the name poly). Based on the carbon atom that the double bond appears, these fats can have different names like Omega-3 Fatty Acids or Omega-6 Fatty Acids and with different names..come different health benefits. 

Omega-3's that are found in fatty fish, krill and nuts (along with many more) can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body reducing damaging inflammation and can reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart diseases. EPA and DHA, two other well known Omega-3 FA's are also super important for proper brain health, function and development..especially in pregnant women and growing children!


How much should you be ingesting? 

Polyunsaturated fats should make a up a majority or the 25-35% of your daily fat intake...around 15-20%

Monounsaturated Fats: These fats get their name from the fact that they only hold one double bond. They differ slightly from polyunsaturated fats and share the same sources. 

The most known monounsaturated fats are olive oil and avocados. Some studies suggest that diets lower in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated fat can help improve your insulin sensitivity. This means that you will be more responsive to your own insulin so you will produce less of it. High levels of insulin (like as seen in diabetics) can damage the kidneys, nerves and blood vessels.

How much should you be ingesting? 

Monounsaturated fats should make up the final piece of your 25-35% fat intake. That means around 10-15% of your fat should come from these sources!

Last but not least...Artificial Trans-Fat:

These fats are made when hydrogen atoms are added to liquid vegetable oils in order to make a solid product. Margarine is one of the most common Trans-fats. The problem with these FA's is that they provide no nutritional benefit. 

On top of being empty calories, the body has a tremendous amount of trouble breaking them down due to their unnatural chemical composition. Because of this they get stored in the body and can lead to an increase risk of heart disease and other coronary issues.

Artificial trans fats should be avoided as much as possible. The problem with them is that you have to do some investigating to find them. Due to the lack of a uniform food label, companies are free to change the serving size of their product to what ever they like. 

This isn't such a big deal on its own. However if a serving contains less then .5g of a nutrient....they don't have to include it on the label! Crazy what they are allowed to get away with!

So..how do you protect yourself against an over ingesting of Artificial Trans Fats? 

Well to start, limit your consumption of pre processed foods. Aim to eat whole foods and base your meals around 4-6oz of protein and 6-8oz of vegetables.

Read labels! If they have trans-fat listed under total fat, avoid it! Also check the ingredients for anything that says hydrogenated or partially-hydrogentated oil. Even if they made the serving size super small..this will still tell you that it has Trans-fats!

As always please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments about the article or any other topic you'd like to discuss! You can reach me at 516-551-8900 or mat@learnapplysurvive.com

Feel free to check out our weekly newsletter for recipes, workout tips and motivational posts!

www.tfwhicksville.com
www.learnapplysurvive.com
www.ultimategymli.com