THE FAT TYPES AND THEIR EFFECTS

High consumption of fat or of the combination fat and carbohydrates causes obesity, heart disease and other health problems. However the different types of fat have very different effects on the health. Here is a survey of the different fat categories and their effects:

Mono-unsaturated fat - This type of fat prevents heart disease and circulatory disease in moderate amounts.

Omega-6-poly-unsaturated fat - This fat type prevents heart disease if you do not consume too much of it. However it causes inflammatory reactions. This type of reactions are benign when they are moderate and when they are provoked to fight disease. But a constant high inflammatory response is dangerous, and can cause rheumatism, heart trouble and cancer. A very high consumption of this type of fat is therefore dangerous.

Omega-3-poly-unsaturated fat - This type of fat prevents heart disease and reduces inflammatory reactions in moderate amounts. Therefore it also reduces the risk of cancer, intestinal inflammations and rheumatism.

Omega-9-poly-unsaturated fat - This type of fat also prevents heart disease and reduces inflammatory reactions in moderate amounts. Therefore it reduces the risk of cancer, intestinal inflammations and rheumatism.

Saturated fat - This type of fat is probably not dangerous in small amounts. In higher amounts, saturated fat gives high cholesterol levels, causes clogging of the blood vessels, causes coronary heart disease and increases the risk of infarct of the heart and other organs.

Cholesterol - Cholesterol is a fat-like compound found in the food, but also synthesized from saturated fat by the body. High intake of saturated fat or of cholesterol itself therefore elevates the cholesterol level in the body. Cholesterol is a necessary compound, but in higher amounts it causes clogging of the blood vessels, causes coronary heart disease and increases the risk of infarct of the heart and other organs.

Trans-fat - This type of fat is produced by chemical processing to yield specific mechanical properties. Margarine often contains this type of fat. This type of fat is dangerous, and is a probably a causal component for heart disease and cancer. There is however one exception: Some amount of fat containing the trans acid conjugated linoleic acid seem to be benevolent for the skin health and may help reduce weight. Conjugated linoleic acid is found in milk and butter.

COMMON PROBLEMS OF THE AVERAGE DIET

The average American and European diet generally contains too much fat and carbohydrates combined. The fat consumed is generally a mixture of trans fat, saturated fat and omega-6-poly-usaturated fat. This bad fat consume causes overweight and is probably a major contributing component for the incidence of heart disease, cancer, intestinal inflammatory diseases, rheumatism and other inflammatory conditions.

RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FAT IN THE DIET:

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