Saturday, February 18, 2006

Fat: Definition, Facts & Links

"It's simple, if it jiggles, it's fat." ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Fat: Definition from dictionary.com

1.a. The ester of glycerol and one, two, or three fatty acids.
b. Any of various soft, solid, or semisolid organic compounds constituting the esters of
glycerol and fatty acids and their associated organic groups.
c. A mixture of such compounds occurring widely in organic tissue, especially in the
adipose tissue of animals and in the seeds, nuts, and fruits of plants.
d. Animal tissue containing such substances.
e. A solidified animal or vegetable oil.
2. Obesity; corpulence.
3. The best or richest part: living off the fat of the land.
4. Unnecessary excess: "would drain the appropriation's fat without cutting into education's muscle" (New York Times).

Synonyms: "beefy, big, blimp, brawny, broad, bulging, bulky, bull, burly, butterball, chunky, corpulent, cow, distended, dumpy, elephantine, fleshy, gargantuan, gross, heavy, heavyset, hefty, husky, inflated, jelly-belly, lard, large, meaty, obese, oversize, paunchy, plump, plumpish, ponderous, porcine, portly, potbellied, pudgy, roly-poly, rotund, solid, stout, stubby, swollen, thickset, tubby, weighty, whale" - dictionary.com

Also known as "Squishy"

The below information has been copied from The Canadian Health Network:
Fat can be grouped into major categories as follows:
Saturated FatSaturated fat is solid at room temperature. It comes mainly from animal sources such as meat, poultry and dairy products and a limited number of plant sources (coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil). These oils are often used in products such as cookies, crackers and cakes. Too much saturated fat can cause blood cholesterol levels to rise.
Trans Fatty Acids
Trans fatty acids are created when vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated. The hydrogenation process involves changing liquid oil to hard fat like shortening. These fats are found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and some margarines, as well as some cookies, crackers and commercially baked products.
Trans fatty acids have the same effect on blood cholesterol as saturated fat and can raise blood cholesterol levels.
Unsaturated Fats
There are two types of unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
  • Monounsaturated Fat
    Monounsaturated fat helps lower blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated fat is found in olive and canola oil, some soft non-hydrogenated margarines, avocados and nuts; filberts, almonds, pistachios, pecans and cashews.
  • Polyunsaturated Fat
    Polyunsaturated fats also help lower blood cholesterol. There are two types of polyunsaturated fats: omega-3 and omega-6.

    • Omega-3 fats are found in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, trout, herring and sardines and oils and margarine made from plant sources including canola, linseed and soybeans. Omega-3 fats help prevent stickiness and clotting of blood. Many studies have shown that fatty fish consumption is associated with lower risk of heart diseases.
    • Omega-6 fats are found in safflower, sunflower and corn oils, in some soft non-hydrogenated margarines and nuts and seeds such as almonds, pecans, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.






I found this chart HERE.







Good Links:


www.howstuffworks.com has a very detailed article on fat which includes:

- Classification and Biochemistry
- Digestion and Metabolism Functions
- Requirements, Dificiency and Excess
- Dietary and Disease

Health Canada (Government Website) is a great resource:
Link #1 - Fact Sheet on 'Trans Fats"
Link #2 - Trans Fat article

www.tanita.com - Has a great line of scales that measure Body Fat %.

Labels: ,

|

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home