Overview of Dietary Fats
With the low carbohydrate craze, many people turned their attention to fats. They eat more of it and think it's fine. Depending on what kind of fat you are eating and how much of it you take in, fats can be detrimental or beneficial to your overall health.
There are three main types of fat: unsaturated, saturated and trans fats. Unsaturated fats come mainly from plant sources such as olives and nuts and contain no cholesterol. They are liquid (oil) at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are broken down further in monounsaturated (one double bond) and polyunsaturated (more than one double bond). Saturated fats come mainly from animal sources such as meat and dairy. At room temperature, saturated fats are solid.
You might be asking yourself what a fat is saturated or unsaturated with. A fat molecule is made up of carbon atoms that have hydrogen atoms attached to them.
In saturated fats, all carbon atoms have a single bond to another carbon atom and are also bonded to hydrogen atoms. In unsaturated fats, not all carbons are saturated with hydrogen atoms so double bonds form between carbons. Depending on what carbon the double bond is formed determines the fat's properties. 
Trans fat is man made fat. It is made by taking an unsaturated fat and putting hydrogen through it in a process called hydrogenation. Trans fat is very bad for your health. Whole saturated fat increases LDL (bad) cholesterol and very slightly increases HDL (good) cholesterol, trans fat increases LDL cholesterol and decreases HDL cholesterol.
Just remember that eating fat doesn't make you fat. Fat is an essential nutrient that we cannot live without. Even while dieting, you should make an effort to take in an adequate amount of fat. Failing to do will have a negative impact on your health.
For more information on how fat can impact your health, visit the Guide to Dietary Fats. You can also check out what foods others are eating to increase their intake of healthy fats at the diet forums.
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Here are some topics that are currently being discussed on a host of diet and nutrition issues that will help you better understand how fats can fit into your daily diet: