Nutritional Labels - fat content

kittycarr

I just noticed something on a label for some food I have in the office.

Exactly how many different kinds of fats are there?  Saturated fats, trans fats, poly and mono unsaturated fats...anything else?

The label said this...

Fat 0.5g
Saturated Fat 0g
Trans Fat 0g

No listing for poly or mono unsaturated.

Okay, so what kind of fat is this .5g?

And, even though poly and mono unsat's aren't going to clog your arteries and kill you, you still shouldn't be consuming those in mass quantities either, correct?  Fat is still fat and will still kill your waistline if you don't burn it off, it just doesn't do in your heart, right? 

Someone in the grocery store the other day, I overheard, was choosing olive oils based on there being more of the good fats in them.  As in, there are 5g poly and 8g mono in this one but there is more in *this one so let's get *this one instead, kwim.

SumnerBride

I'm not sure what kind of fat that .5g is, but there are good fats, and your body does need fat.  It doesn't seem right, but you do need to eat some good fats to be healthy.  Olive oil is a good one.

kittycarr

Right, your body needs fat, I get that.  (no sarcasm or *tone* intended)  Good fats are the poly and mono unsaturated fats.  The trans and saturated fats are the bad ones.  What I'm asking though is that you should still not consume mass quantities of those fats just because they are the good fats.  Fat is fat, it still has the same affect on you, just won't clog your arteries.  Or is that wrong?

SumnerBride

Well, I'm probably in the minority here, but I consume what most would think is a lot of fat.  I've been keeping my "bad" carbs at a low count, and my protein, fat, and "good" carbs at a higher count.  I've lost over 25lbs and had my blood work done last week.  My doc says all of my levels, including cholesterol, look great.  My triglycerides are low too.

I think for too many years we've been told LOW FAT is the way to go.  Not so.  I've read tons of books on the subject too.  I didn't just decide one day to do it.  I've never felt better either.