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Saturated, Monounsaturated,
Polyunsaturated Fats

Article Written By Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

Oil & Water Never Mix - Percentage of Human Body That is Water

The human body is composed chiefly of water and what happens when we try to mix-in oil? Well, we know that is never a good combination.

But as full of water as it might be, even the human body requires fat in order to function in the most efficient manner. The key is minimal consumption.

The healthy adult human body is comprised of about 60% to 75% water in early adulthood. Unfortunately, for the obese adult, that amount can decrease to as low as 45%.

Our body weight, our age, our daily diet - all play a roll in the amount of water that our body currently contains.

Types of Fat Chosen Impact Level of Health

As we stroll down the market aisles with our shopping carts in front of us, we are continually making decisions and choices in the foods and beverages that we place into our basket which will in turn, impact how we feel, look and even our current and future state of health.

If we choose too many fatty foods or high caloric beverages to go into our basket, over time we will raise our risks for particular issues such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. What we choose truly does matter.

The Distribution of Fats Contained in Cooking Oils: Not 'all oils' are created equal.

When it comes to cooking oil, almost-all contain about 120 calories per Tablespoon.

The area which we need to study on the labels is the distribution of lipids. Staying away from those that are high in saturated fat content may assist in lowering negative health risks.

Lard, shortening, coconut and palm are exceptionally high in saturated fat.

Almond, Avocado, Olive are high in monounsaturated fat and may assist in increasing levels of protective HDL cholesterol.

Canola is lower in saturated fat grams when compared to all other cooking fats and makes an excellent choice for your pantry..

Corn, Soybean, Sunflower and Safflower are a rich sources for polyunsaturated fatty acids; this assists in helping to reduce cholesterol in the blood. Safflower contains the highest amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in comparison to its peers.

Cottonseed, Hazelnut and Grape Seed varieties contain a notable percentage of Vitamin E.

Peanut may assist in keeping serum cholesterol in check.

Data Chart: Types of Cooking Fats & Their Distribution of Fatty Acid Content

Let's look at the distribution of fatty acids for the following based on 1 Tablespoon, which is considered a serving size.

Type

Fat Grams (g)

Saturated  g

Mono g

Poly g

Chicken Fat

12.8

3.8

5.7

2.6

Lard

12.8

5.0

5.8

1.4

Shortening

12.8

3.2

5.7

3.3

Almond

13.6

1.1

9.5

2.4

Avocado

14

1.6

9.9

1.9

Canola

14

1.0

8.3

4.1

Coconut

13.6

11.8

0.8

0.2

Corn

13.6

1.7

3.3

7.9

Cottonseed

13.6

3.5

2.4

7.0

Grape Seed

13.6

1.3

2.2

9.5

Hazelnut

13.6

1.0

10.6

1.4

Olive

13.5

1.8

10.0

1.2

Palm

13.6

6.7

5.0

1.3

Peanut

13.5

2.3

6.2

4.3

Safflower

13.6

1.2

1.7

10.1

Sesame

13.6

9.0

5.4

5.7

Soybean

13.6

2.0

3.2

7.9

Sunflower

13.6

1.4

2.7

8.9

Walnut

13.6

1.2

3.1

8.6

Calories in Chips

Determining the calories in that serving of chips is as easy as looking on the package label.  However, there are times when that may be impossible - such as when dining out.  

And those little restaurant style tortilla chips can really add up!  And because most are out of this Diet World, it's hard to quit munching on them until the main entree arrives.

So during those times when you are away from those trusty labels, a good rule of Diet Thumb is:

-One chip generally equals about 15 calories.

Dips are another culprit that assists in tightening our hip-huggers. When given the option, substitute the following for fatty dips and cut calories and yes - fat:

-Run like a Diet Dear from the cheese dips OR dip into the lighter, reduced fat versions.

-Reach for the salsa rather than cream-based dips.

-Dips that are light, lite or reduced fat contain less calories.

-Baked chips cut calorie and fat content.

-Take care before diving into yogurt dips as some may contain more calories than full-blown dips.

-Bean dips may also be a healthy alternative to full-blown dips but may be very high in calories - depending upon the dip brand.

 

Related Articles

Solid Fat Index

Detailed nutritional data and information for:

Sesame Oil

Safflower Oil

Grapeseed Oil

Palm Oil

 

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