Good and Bad Fats

Several years ago I was focused on counting the number of fat grams in my diet.

I diligently read food labels and only purchased low fat products.  I ate a lot of carbohydrates but I was always hungry and tired.   I did not eat meat, nuts or peanut butter and only ate a tiny bit of cheese.

Since then I have learned that some fat is good for you.  Fats are important to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They also help protect your organs and help keep your body warm.   Dietary fat article




There are three types of fats:

• Unsaturated 
• Saturated 
• Trans 

While all fats provide 9 calories per gram, unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) can have a positive effect on your health when eaten in moderation and used to replace saturated and trans fats.  They can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce risk of heart disease.

Saturated and trans fats can negatively effect your health by raising bad cholesterol levels (LDL) in your blood.  

Trans fats are made using vegetable oils and added to foods like cakes, icing, biscuits and popcorn.

• Unsaturated - olive oil, avocados, salmon, walnuts, sunflower seeds, tofu and soybeans
• Saturated - red meat, milk, cheese, coconut oil and added to processed foods
• Trans - being phased out in US starting June 18.  FDA Trans Fat Article

I was curious about the amount of fat in salty snacks.

Given below is a table showing the amount of fat, saturated fat, calories and sodium in some of my family's favorite snacks.

	Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Calories	Sodium (mg)
Lays Oven Baked Potato Crisps, Original, 18 chips, 1 oz	2	0	120	135
Ruffles, Oven Baked Cheddar and Sour Cream, 11 chips, 1 oz	3	0.5	120	140
Lays Potato Chips, Classic, 15 chips, 1 oz	10	1.5	160	170
Better Made Original Potato Chips 17 chips	11	3	160	170
Tostitos Oven Baked Scoops, 16 chips, 1 oz	3.5	0.5	120	240
Tostitos Tortilla Corn Chips, 7 chips, 1 oz	7	1	140	115
Cheetos Puffs Cheese Flavored, 23 pieces	7	1	140	300
Fritos Original Corn Chips, 1 oz bag	10	2	180	170
Doritos, 11 chips, includes MSG	8	1	140	210

I didn't realize that Baked chips had a significant reduction in fat as compared to the original versions.  

Since completing this chart now I understand why my husband usually purchases the baked version of potato chips.

I am going to really reduce the amount of Tostitos I eat because even though the baked version has less fat it has a lot more sodium than the original version.

I was also surprised about the amount of calories in Fritos and the amount of sodium in Cheese Puffs.

This link includes additional snacks:  Chips Ranked