trans-fats, saturated fats, rancid oils- whats better for my health?

Question

theres a lot bad press about trans fats. but what about the replacements- saturated fats and unsaturated fats that turn rancid or convert to toxic radicals on deep frying- are there any studies that prove that these are less harmful to health?

Answer 1

Trans fatty acids are fatty acids that have been processed- including through frying and it has caused them to change shape. Instead of having two long tails similar to an elongated U shape, one of the legs of the U faces the other way to the other. These fatty acids then go into your cells and because they don't fit together nicely things can leak out of your cells. This is what then causes the damage.
Any sort of fat can become a trans fat including saturated fats. So what you need to do is find ones that you can use that can withstand some of the damage and do not become trans fats very easily. Olive Oil is one of the best of these as it can take quite high temperatures before it turns rancid- or become a trans fat. So when cooking I would suggest using olive oil. Saturated fats are never good in large amounts in you body as they have the disadvantage of increasing body weight, clogging your veins, and increasing your cholesterol. But having no fat in your diet is not good either as long chain fatty acids or polyunsaturated fats are necessary for nerve growth and in particular for brain growth and development among others. All that grey matter in your brain that helps your brain conduct impulses is fat from polyunsaturated and omega three and six fats. Omega three fats are in their highest quantities in fish oil particularly from oily deep sea fish but you can also get it in small amounts in meat and in nuts and seeds. So to cook with olive oil is the best as far as eating fats, in general small amounts of meat, fish two or more times per week and snacking on nuts and seeds is a good way to go.
If you want to find some studies that look at the effects of fatty acids then I suggest you go to medline- link below and do a searhc for omega fatty acids. You will get a lot of studies that you can have a look at.

Answer 2

Canola oil or extra virgin olive oil are the best.