BREAKFAST;

Your stomach rumbles and growls loudly at you when you wake up on a Sunday morning. Scratching your head and wiping the crusty drool mark off your face, you manage to stumble your way into the kitchen with one eye open, only by following the scent of sizzling bacon. Before you grab a plate and begin to inhale 10 pieces of bacon in your mouth all at once, consider this: One strip of bacon contains about 40 calories, and very high levels of trans and saturated fats and sodium. In addition to bacon, there are lots of other breakfast foods that we scarf down way before we even confider what's in them, especially foods that are high in sugars, salts, and last but not least, dreaded fats. Fats have gained the reputation of being horribly sinful and eating them should be unthinkable. It's true, fats can be bad for you, but there are some types of fats that your body needs in order to function. In this section of our blog, you can find out more about when you can do without certain fats, and when you just need to suck up your fat-phobia and say, "I NEED FAT!" Like stated earlier, eating fats might seem repulsive to some dieting for that model thin body, but the truth of the matter is that there could not be a worse time in our life to diet than now. During these years of dramatic growth within our bodies, our body needs all of the nutrients we can supply it, if not more. During adolescence is when we grow more so tan any other time in our lives (other than when we were babies) and depriving ourselves of necessary nutrients we need to grow can be detrimental to our health. Fats also supply us a tremendous amount of energy and are there as a reserve just in case we begin to run on a calorie deficit. Most diets target fat in particular and try to reduce, and even eliminate them from your eating altogether. A lot of foods that you see in the supermarket might have a bright label that says, "FAT FREE." Although getting rid of fats might seem like a good idea, keep in mind that before you start cutting them out completely you should know the difference between certain fats, and that you need fats to survive.

Sure, there are certain fats that you can afford to get rid of, but others such as polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats are a necessity. These "good" fats, or essential fatty acids, can be found in goods such as fish, nuts, and certain oils like olive oil. These fats are proven to lower cholesterol, rather than their not so healthy friends saturated and trans, which tend to raise them. According to the American Heart Association, essential fatty acids support healthy cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems of the body and aid in the repair of cell membranes. Deficiencies of these good fats are linked to many healthy conditions like different types of heart disease. 

On another note, you shouldn't go home and head for the pantry to stuff your face full of fattening Twinkies because you read in a PE blog that fats are 100% okay. Just because your body needs some fats doesn't mean that it needs ALL fats. Fats that are found in processed foods are often synthesized and added into products to enhance flavor or increase shelf life. Trans and saturated fats are the fats that should be avoided. Although they are sometimes thought to be equally bad, saturated fats are slightly better than trans fats. Saturated fats are the fats that come from animals and animal products like their meats, milks, and cheeses. Trans fats on the other hand, are also extremely harmful but are believed to raise cholesterol levels more so than saturated fats. The total amount of at should be limited to 25-35% of total daily calorie intake. This may seem like a lot of fat, but also keep in mind that the percentage of saturated fats should be less than 7%, and trans fat should account for less than 1%. The percentage left should be the "good" fats, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that cannot be synthesized by chemicals. 

In any case, the rule of thumb and a good key to healthiness is moderation. Eating a few delicious Oreos once in a while is fine, just so long as "once in a while" doesn't happen to be 5 times a day, everyday. On the other side of the spectrum, you should never completely eliminate something from your diet either, because everything has a function in your body. You need fats just as much as you need any other nutrient, but they key is the right amount. SO before you fill your plate with the congealed goodness that is bacon, remember that there are other options for a health breakfast that tastes just as good without all the heart clogging Have you ever tried turkey bacon, or maybe even veggie bacon? Both provide that same crunch and same familiar breakfast without the coagulation! The importance of fat is often underestimated, but did you know that 2/3 of your brain is composed of (you guess it,) FATS!