19/01/2023
How can you distinguish between good and bad fats?
First, it’s helpful to make a distinction between “fatty” foods and “high-fat” foods. Fatty foods are over-processed or packaged foods that contain highly processed fats and oils (or are deep fried, for example). It should come as no surprise that fatty foods are bad for you! High-fat foods, on the other hand, are foods that naturally contain larger amounts of fat per serving. It’s these natural fats that we want to increase in our diet.
But among high-fat foods there is one further distinction: saturated and unsaturated fats. (The term “saturated” refers to how many hydrogen atoms are connected to the carbon atoms in the fat’s molecules—in other words, how saturated with hydrogen it is.) Luckily, there is a simple, easy method to determine which is which: leave it out on the counter. If it remains a solid (e.g., butter, coconut oil), it’s saturated fat. If it becomes a liquid (e.g., olive oil), it’s primarily unsaturated fat.
When we take all of the data and research into account, we can start to form an idea of which fats to target in our diet and which to reduce or eliminate. A rule of thumb we can use is to remember the following:
Naturally unsaturated fats are good fats.
Overly processed fats, like those generally found in highly processed or fried foods, are bad fats.
Naturally saturated fats fall somewhere in between the two.
