By Ismael “Bebo” Aponte
New Years is around the corner and we start to make changes in our lives and our diet. We know that we need to avoid saturated fats and trans fats because they cause heart disease and other health problems. But, why do we avoid them? Have you heard that they are bad or have you actually checked and read the reasons why? My friends I am here to tell you that this information is not true and that we have been doing it all wrong. I include myself because for many years I was told saturated fats were bad and that vegetable oils or polyunsaturated fats were healthy. I will inform you all about the latest studies so you can make an informed decision on your own.
Where do “vegetable oils” like canola oil come from? It is extracted from the seed of these plants, which are not really vegetables, but is commercialized as being healthy. We tend to consume a large amount of these fats, mainly through fried foods, and have caused our bodies to become victims of them. Polyunsaturated fats tend to react with oxygen, which can cause chain reactions, damaging other structures and perhaps even vital structures like DNA. This is where saturated fats become our friends and not our enemies like we might of thought before. To make it easy to understand, saturated fats do not have space in their molecular structure to react with oxygen and cause harm while unsaturated fats do. So, saturated fats should be used instead as they are naturally solid at room temperature and do not have to go through a process to be able to be sold like vegetable oils do.
This takes me to my second point and one of the worst things about vegetable oils, which is the process they go through in order to actually become oil. As I mentioned earlier, they come from the seed of certain plant not from a vegetable. The extraction of these oils is disgusting and crazy to even be considered safe to consume. They go through different processes like heating, harmful solvents, and bleaching before they can actually be put in a commercial bottle. I suggest you check out the link I post on my website concerning this so you can see it for yourself. But it gets even worse, because we usually use these oils to fry. If by themselves they are bad then fried they become even worse. This is why most fast-food restaurants should be avoided as much as possible. To make it even easier to understand, this oil is so bad that some of these restaurants sell their used oil to truck companies to filter and use as fuel. One last thing I wanted to mention was that some of the studies show that most of these vegetable oils sold at US stores, contained about 0.56% to 4.2% of toxic trans fats. As you already know, trans fats should be avoided completely as they have been shown to cause a numerous amount of diseases.
Ok you convinced me, so what should I do? I know it will not be easy, but avoiding all of these vegetable oils should be your first step. Saturated fats and natural oils like olive oil are the best and should be consumed more often. It was thought that saturated raised cholesterol and that is why they were bad, when in reality that is why they are good. Wait what? Yes, these fats raise your good cholesterol and your bad cholesterol at the same time. But, the bad cholesterol that goes up are large and fluffy in structure and don’t easily penetrate the arteries, which is good. The latest and most recent studies show no threat between saturated fats and heart disease, so do not be concerned about that. But don’t just take my word for it, go and do your own research and you will see it for yourself. I can go on with this topic but I can only write so much here, so I will be posting a few more articles about this on my Bebo Fitness website for all to check out. As always consult your physician or dietitian before making any changes in your exercise or diet regimen. Much love, many blessings always, and I wish everyone a Happy New Year.
Website: www.bebofitness.com
Facebook/Instagram: Ismael El Bebo
