Cooper Corner

Turns out Napoleon was right!

Long before Adele Davis said, “We are what we eat,” French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte claimed that “An army marches on its stomach!” Turns out that Adele and Napoleon were right.
     Food is fuel. It gives us the ability to think, to move and to fight disease. However, as we all know, not all food is created equal. That's especially true when it comes to fat. Fat is a great source of sustained energy, so a snack or meal that contains some fat helps us feel full and satisfied longer than a meal or snack that is fat-free. Fat, much like protein and carbohydrate, is essential to good health; however, there's a huge difference in the type of fat we get from our food (think double-bacon cheeseburger vs. salmon fillet).
     Dietary fats include poly-unsaturated, mono- saturated, saturated and trans.
     The “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” we see on food labels are man-made fats called trans fats. These prolong shelf life and make fried foods such as French fries crispier, keep packaged baked goods (cookies, crackers, pastries, etc.) soft and fresh longer and make products like cake frosting creamier. Trans-fats raise the risk of heart disease and are considered the unhealthiest of all fats. Limit trans-fats as much as possible and read the labels of processed foods. Here at Cooper we consider trans-fat to be the equivalent of a red light.
     Saturated fats are the fats in animal products (meats, poultry, eggs, seafood, etc.) and dairy products, as well as coconut, palm and other tropical oils. Although some saturated fat is necessary and helps the body manufacture the “good” (HDL) cholesterol, too much can lead to an elevated "bad", or LDL cholesterol level. (At Cooper, we remember that HDL is “healthy” cholesterol, and LDL is “lousy” cholesterol.) Saturated fats need to be limited, especially if your cholesterol level is too high. The animal fats, saturated fat, are like a yellow traffic light - proceed with caution.
     Un-saturated fats come in two forms, mono-unsaturated, and poly-unsaturated and are considered the green light fats. Mono-unsaturated fats are found in plants and include olive, peanut, and canola oils (remember that oil is just a liquid fat), avocados, and nuts. Poly-unsaturated fats are the fats in fish, walnuts, flax seed and canola oil. These fats are known as “essential” fats because the body cannot make them - we need to consume them.
     Food is fuel and the vast majority of our nutrients should come from a good, healthy, balanced diet. Next issue, I'll talk more about the poly-unsaturated fats (also known as omega fatty acids). Until then, make it a habit to look at ingredient panels, to evaluate the food you choose to eat, and to focus on choosing healthy mono-unsaturated, and poly-unsaturated fat, the “green light” fat.
     Todd Whitthorne is president and CEO of Cooper Concepts, a Cooper Aerobics Company and proud HTAA member. He is now a regular contributor at Driver HEALTH.