You hear the terms "good fat" and "bad fat" a lot these days. They can be confusing for a consumer trying to shop for healthy foods. Eating saturated fats can increase the risk of heart disease while eating fish containing fish oils can lower the risk. Understanding the differences between saturated fat and fish oils is a key to maintaining heart health.
Significance
Oil and fat are often synonymous with weight gain and heart disease. Actually, fat is one of three calorie supplying nutrients that are essential to proper body function. Fat is necessary for energy, healthy skin and hair, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and insulating the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Function
Fish oil and saturated fats have opposing actions within the body. Fish oil is most commonly known for treating conditions associated with the heart. According to the American Heart Association, fish oils, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, can lower triglyceride levels and slow the growth of plaque in the arteries of the heart. Saturated fats are most commonly known for causing heart disease. Saturated fats are associated with increasing cholesterol.
Identification
Fish oil is obtained from certain types of fish, including salmon, herring, trout, tuna and sardines. Fish oil can also be taken in pill form. You should take fish oil only under supervision and by recommendation of a doctor.
Saturated fats are found in high-fat cheeses, milk and cream, high fat cuts of meat and butter. Commercially prepared baked goods may also be high in saturated fats if they were made with coconut and palm oils.
Considerations
Eating about 3 1/2 oz. of fatty fish twice each week is recommended by the American Heart Association. Some fish does contain mercury and environmental pollutants. Children and pregnant women should avoid eating fish with the highest potential for these contaminants, including shark and swordfish.
Ideally, saturated fats should make up no more than 10 percent of your daily calories. Consuming leaner cuts of meat, low-fat milk products and avoiding commercial baked goods can help cut down your intake of saturated fats.
Expert Insight
The National Institutes of Health, NIH, considers saturated fats to be the biggest dietary cause of high LDL, low-density lipoprotein, cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is considered to be a bad form of cholesterol and is associated with plaque buildup in the heart and increased risk of heart attack and stroke. NIH also indicates that fish oil may increase LDL cholesterol. For this reason, it is important to discuss the effect of any major dietary change with your doctor. Significantly modifying your diet or adding a supplement could negatively affect your health or interfere with medications you may be taking.
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