FAST FOOD AND CHOLESTEROL
Everyone has heard about cholesterol, and most people know that fast foods and junk food have a lot of it. But few people really understand what cholesterol is or where it comes from. Most don't even know the difference between cholesterol and fat.
Cholesterol is the scientific name for the fatty oil that comes from animals. It's a kind of saturated fat, which means it cannot be digested by the body. It's found in all animals, including human beings. Besides the cholesterol that our bodies make, we get even more from certain foods that we eat. Eggs, dairy products, and red meat like beef and pork all contain a lot of cholesterol.
Our bodies can only handle so much of this kind of fat, so when more cholesterol gets into the body than it can digest, it sticks inside the arteries that carry the blood around to our organs.
Cholesterol is hard, like candle wax, so as we get older, the layer of cholesterol gets thicker. As it gets thicker, the blood has more and more trouble flowing around the body. Vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain can't get as much oxygen as they need. The result is a heart attack, or if not enough oxygen gets to the brain, a stroke.
There are several different kinds of fat, of which cholesterol is just one. Not all fats are the same, and some of them may actually be good for us. Unsaturated fats are called "good fats" because they don't stick inside the arteries and may even help to remove some of the excess cholesterol from the body. These fats are found in vegetables like corn and olives.
Unfortunately, not all vegetable oils are unsaturated. Some, such as coconut or palm oil, are saturated, so they're just as bad as the cholesterol from animal fat.
How can we tell if a fat is saturated or unsaturated? Unsaturated fats remain liquid even at cold temperatures, but saturated fats get hard. Fats that get hard will stick inside the arteries, but the others won't.
So does this mean that a person can eat all the unsaturated fat he or she wants? Not exactly. It all depends on whether or not he or she cares about getting fat. All fats, whether saturated or unsaturated, will make a person fat if they eat too much. All fats, even the "good" ones, contain a lot of calories.
But not everybody agrees that eating fat makes people fat. They say it's carbohydrates, found in bread, pasta, rice, and sugar, that makes people fat. Their diet, which they call the "protein" or "low-carb diet" is based on red meat, eggs, and other high fat foods. Their rationale is that fatty foods make your stomach feel fuller than foods made from flour, so you end un eating less food.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How would you describe your eating habits?
2. When you decide to eat something. do you think about whether it is good for your body or not, or do you not even think about it? Why or why not?
3. How would you describe the foods eaten in your country? Do they contain a lot of oil and fat. or are they mostly healthy foods? Give some examples of unhealthy foods sold in your country.
4. How import!ant are a person's eating habits in determining his or her overall health? Does food make a big difference or doesn't it matter very much? Tell why you think so.
5. It has been said that what a person eats when he's young determines the kind of body he'll have when he's old. Do you agree? How many young people think about it?