Bad Fats To Avoid
Fat isn’t the devil, but there are some bad fats to avoid, not exactly making it the messiah either.
For someone trying to change their body and at least put up a front that they’re doing it for health — not shallow — reasons, wouldn’t it be of interest to you to find out what those fats are and the foods full of them?
Well, I gotcha covered!
…and hey, if you indirectly look hot as fuck as a result of improving your health by not eating so much of the crap with bad fats, that’s just an added bonus!
It’s not like you set out to be vain, right?!
Dietary fat is kind of a multi-tasker. It protects the organs, helps with nutrient absorption, and traps in body heat to maintain a stable internal environment. It supports cell growth and hormone production, too. And at nine calories per gram, fat is also a major source of energy. As if that weren’t enough, depending on the type, fat does even more — whether it be good or bad.
When consumed in moderation, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats not only help body processes like the metabolism operate more efficiently, but they lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by raising HDL, or good cholesterol. For this reason, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the superhero fats.
Every protagonist must have an antagonist, or else there would be nothing that made the hero heroic. Well, saturated and trans fats are the two supervillain fats that make monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats the good guys.
Their evil superpowers?
They both clog arteries and cause inflammation, promote premature skin aging, and contribute to heart disease by lowering HDL and raising bad cholesterol, or LDL.
These bad fats are naturally occurring in many animal and plant-based products. But because they’re flavor enhancing and inexpensive to make, they’re used in the preparation of a number of foods. It’s for this reason that the average American eats way more of these fats than dietary guidelines recommend.
And what happens when you eat too much of anything, especially when you’re the average American who doesn’t move around?
Yeah, you know what happens!1Psst…look at your gut!
Yes, saturated and trans fats have the ability to expand your waistline, giving them yet another superpower!
Not particularly inclined to have your ticker explode?
Not enthused at the prospect of your belly having its own zip code?
Then how ‘bout you have a looksy at some of the most common foods with the bad fats to avoid…
…so you can then, I don’t know, avoid them!
Salami, hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ham, and other processed meats have high saturated fat content. They also contain the preservative sodium nitrate, which has been linked to premature wrinkling. There’s even greater concern, though. An association between processed meat and lower sperm count appears tangible. For all my players out there, that’s clearly no bueno!
Hmmmm…but on second thought, this may not be disastrous news after all.
If you want to enjoy unprotected sex while reducing your chance of accidentally having to pay child support for 18 years, keep wrapping everything in bacon, playboy!
Before you zap that leftover pizza for breakfast, take into account that cheese has naturally occurring saturated fat. On top of that, what are the meat toppings?
Yes, pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon are all processed meats!
So what you’re basically eating is a smorgasbord of fat stacked on a crust, which itself has a shitload of calories.
Can you say, “YUMMEEEEEE”?!?!
Don’t hang your head in worry at TMNT no longer recognizing you as the long lost fifth member. Rather than ordering your pizza with extra cheese and high-fat meat up the wazoo, stick with regular cheese and top it with vegetables or chicken, a leaner cut of meat.
Oh, and eat a few slices at a sitting instead of devouring ten and then saving the last two for later when you start feeling disgusted with yourself.
Everyone knows about butter.
Margarine is billed as the healthier alternative.
Here’s the news: It’s not.
B-b-but the label reads cholesterol-free!
Oh, does it now?!
Well, the stick and tub of the stuff is nothing but hydrogenated oil, which is a polite way of saying trans fat. So not only should you account for margarine on your toast, but be mindful of its use the next time you bake goods or drizzle it on your popcorn.
Speaking of which…
Some of us enjoy the finer things in life and have no problem paying the highway robbery prices for movie theater snacks like popcorn.
Well, I hope your elitist ass can afford a cardiologist too because movie theater popcorn contains more than a few day’s worth of saturated fat.
But how else are you to do the old popcorn surprise trick?
Good question!
You’re an elitist with money oozing out your asshole, so buy the popcorn for the sole purpose of doing the trick and don’t eat any.
Fuck starving kids in Africa!
…
Wanna make your own?
Microwave popcorn fares no better. Many popular brands are laden with hydrogenated oils.2Or simply trans fat, as the profane like to call them.
But you really have a hankering for the stuff, huh?
You’re better off air-popping it yourself and, if going to a movie, smuggling it in like the peasants do with their snacks.
There’s nothing wrong with potatoes…
…that is, until you deep fry them to hell in hydrogenated oil in order to make the deliciousness known as french fries and potato chips!!!
What if I told you that spare ribs or a T-bone steak are healthier meal choices than some of the ice cream desserts on the market?
Well, that’s what I’m telling you!
It so happens that the saturated fat content of many premium brands is more than what’s found in notorious artery-cloggers.
So yeah, you scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream…
…when we’re having a heart attack and cursing it to high heavens!!!
Processed baked goods like Twinkies, doughnuts, and mini-muffins are nutritional nightmares on levels bordering the absurd.
While their nutritional profiles don’t look so frightful to the naked eye, they’re quite ghastly once you remember that many of these snack foods aren’t sold individually but come as a package and no human has EVER eaten the suggested serving size of just three cookies, for example. So avoid these tooth decaying sugar bombs and trans fat atrocities like your life depended on it.
Oh yeah, that’s right, your life sort of does depend on it!
Those are just a few of the foods containing saturated fat and trans fat, the bad fats to avoid.
There are more.
Lots and lots more wrecking your figure and devastating your insides.3Examples include cakes, pie crusts, frosting, fish sticks, white chocolate, coffee creamer, and candy.
So yeah, while you were smart enough to say to yourself “Golly gee willickers, I oughta remove this from my meal plan” when you spotted an item that you frequently indulge in, continued research has to be done on your part to seek out these bad fats wherever they are and reduce or eliminate them from your diet.4Saturated fat should make up less than 10 percent of your total calories and less than 1 percent should come from trans fat.
Glossary: calories, diet, dietary fat, hormones, meal plan, metabolism, moderation