4/25/2015 WhatIsMUFAandPUFA?Woman

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No,MUFAsandPUFAsarenotsomestrangetoolthatyouusetosloughoffdeadskinintheshower.MUFAsandPUFAsormonounsaturatedfattyacidsandpolyunsaturatedfattyacidsarealsoreferredtoasthe"healthyfats."Thesefats,whichprotectyourhealthandyourheart,areanessentialpartofabalanceddiet.It'struedietaryfatisbackonthenicelist.

MonounsaturatedFatsMUFAshaveonedoublebonded,orunsaturated,carbonatom.Thesefatsareusuallyliquidatroomtemperature,butwhenyouchillthem,theyturnsolid.Eatingmonounsaturatedfatsinsteadofsaturatedfatsandtransfatscanloweryourcholesterollevelsandreduceyourriskofheartdiseaseandstroke.MUFAsarealsohighinvitaminE,avitaminandantioxidantthatkeepsyourbodyhealthybyprotectingyourcellsfromdamage.Mostfoodscontainacombinationoffats,butavocados,peanutbutter,nuts,seeds,oliveoil,peanutoil,canolaoil,sesameoilandsunfloweroilareparticularlyhighinmonounsaturatedfats.

PolyunsaturatedFatsPUFAshavemorethanonedoublebonded,orunsaturated,carbonatom.Likemonounsaturatedfats,polyunsaturatedfatsareliquidatroomtemperature,buttheyalsostayliquidwhentheyarechilled.Wheneateninmoderation,polyunsaturatedfatscanloweryourcholesterollevelsandreduceyourriskofheartdisease.Sourcesofpolyunsaturatedfatsincludesoybeanoil,cornoil,saffloweroil,salmon,trout,mackerel,herring,walnutsandsunflowerseeds.

TypesofPolyunsaturatedFatsPolyunsaturatedfatscanbedividedintotwocategories:omega6fattyacidsandomega3fattyacids.Omega3fattyacidsplayaroleinnormalgrowthanddevelopmentandproperbrainfunction.Theyalsoreducewidespreadinflammationanddecreaseyourriskofchronicdiseases,suchasheartdisease,arthritisandcancer.Likeomega3fattyacids,omega6fattyacidsplayaroleingrowth,developmentandbrainfunction,buttheyalsoregulatemetabolism,stimulatehairgrowthandkeepthereproductivesystemhealthy.Unlikeomega3s,someomega6fattyacidscanpromoteinflammation.Thekeytostayinghealthyistoconsumeabalanceofbothtypesoffattyacids.TheUniversityofMarylandMedicalCenternotesthattheratioofomega6fattyacidstoomega3fattyacidsshouldbebetween2to1and4to1.Theprimarydietarysourcesofomega3fattyacidsincludesalmon,mackerel,halibut,tuna,herring,flaxseeds,flaxseedoil,soybeanoil,canolaoil,walnuts,walnutoilandpumpkinseeds.Theprimarysourcesofomega6fattyacidsincludesoybeanoil,cornoilandsaffloweroil.

RecommendationsTwentyto35percentofyourdailycaloriesshouldcomefromfat,accordingtoMayoClinic.com.Ifyouareonastandard2,000caloriediet,thismeanseatingabout44to78gramsoffatperday.Whilethereisnospecificrecommendation,mostofthefatyoueatshouldbeintheformofmonounsaturatedandpolyunsaturatedfatsratherthansaturatedfatsandtransfats.AlthoughMUFAsandPUFAsareconsideredhealthyfats,theyarestillhighincalories,containing9caloriespergram.Ahandfulofnutshereandateaspoonofoilthereisenoughtoreapthebenefitsoffatswithoutanynegativehealtheffects,likeweightgain.