Does anyone know if there any dangers or adverse effects linked to high consumption of monounsaturated fats, if overall calorie intake is reasonable?
I ask because my diet is around 50% fat - almost exclusively from monounsaturated fat such as nuts, avacado, olive oil etc. I am a healthy weight, so should I have anything to be concerned about?
Location: St Mary's University College, Twickenham
Posts: 655
Re: dangers of monounsaturated fats?
i'll second that. monounsaturated fats are less easily oxidised in the body than polyunsaturated fats. they also are very good at reducing LDL and raising HDL cholestorol levels.
It's a good way to eat fats as long as it isn't overdone. I see them as sort of NEUTRAL in the battle for LDL and HDL control.
Best oils are the fish oils and canolas with their high Omega-3 content.
Worst are the unsaturates and trans fats.
Monosaturates and polyunsaturates are in the middle. I favor the polys IF they are completely fresh and not rancid!
Of course, olive oil (and sesame) can't be beat for flavor.
But corn or peanut (polyunsaturates) are top of my ranking for deep frying! (You need to be a millionaire to deep fry in olive oil...or even richer to use the nut oils!)
Location: St Mary's University College, Twickenham
Posts: 655
Re: dangers of monounsaturated fats?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenin
It's a good way to eat fats as long as it isn't overdone. I see them as sort of NEUTRAL in the battle for LDL and HDL control.
Best oils are the fish oils and canolas with their high Omega-3 content.
Worst are the unsaturates and trans fats.
Monosaturates and polyunsaturates are in the middle. I favor the polys IF they are completely fresh and not rancid!
not really sure what you mean when you say "neutral". monounsaturated fats exceed polyunsaturated fats (including fish oils) in their ability to act on cholestorol levels. polyunsaturated fats can indeed lower LDL cholesterol, but monounsaturated fats lower LDL and raise HDL levels, the latter also having the effect of lowering LDL levels as it removes LDL levels from the blood and incourages the liver to remove them from the body. as i said before, monos- are better than polys- also in that polys are bad in excess as they are quite easily oxidised in the body which leads to free radical production. monos- are not anywhere near as easily oxidised. polys good for EFAs, monos good for cholesterol lowering would be be my final reading on this.
If one wants to eat fats, little damage will be done to an ideal lipid structure with either monosaturates or polyunsaturates. I think neither is actually BENEFICIAL and that a smaller amount is better than a larger amount.
I think a good way is to assume that GOOD is a diet of little fat of any kind...perhaps under 20% of the diet with 10% even better. BAD is a diet that is high fat of any kind (say 50%+ fat)
If one is going to do the least damage, keep the fats low or, failing that, keep them POLYS or MONOS.
I do not see polys or monos as EVER GOOD if they are used to actually raise the amount of fats in the diet. Thus if a person who eats 40% fat calories, eats an additional 10% as polys for a new total of 50%, he is doing himself no good.
The fats that are GOOD are the Omega-3's, those that are BAD are saturates and trans-fats, and the others are NEUTRAL (not good, not too bad!)
Location: St Mary's University College, Twickenham
Posts: 655
Re: dangers of monounsaturated fats?
i think i get the gist of what you meant len. i'd agree with the point about too much fat of any kind being bad, esp for sports men who need to keep fat percentages down and need a higher percentage of calories to be from carbs for energy. i would say that falling below 20% for fat is unwise as it causes dry skin in many people. also you may run the risk of not getting enough fat soluble vitamins in your diet, esp vit E which is only really contained in veg oils, nuts and seeds and veg sources naturally high in fat, eg avacados.
dangers of monounsaturated fats? 
