Staying Healthy During Chanukah: Good and Bad Fats

Chanukah is already here, bringing with it oil-rich foods like sufganiyot and latkes. In honor of the holiday, we decided to clarify the issue of fats and oils that characterize various holiday foods.

Is fat bad?

First, it is important to note that not all fats are harmful. Despite the negative connotation of the word "fat," there are healthy fats that are even good for us. The fats we consume have a wide range of effects on us, and they can have a positive impact. For example, losing weight is possible if one eats "healthy fats" instead of other foods. The solution for weight loss is not reducing the amount of fat, as previously claimed, but choosing the type of fat. Additionally, "good fats" help protect the heart and improve overall health, as they are essential for our physical health. Of course, we cannot ignore the "bad fats," which, as we all know, can cause cardiovascular diseases, such as increasing blood cholesterol levels. Also, there is an oxidation process of fats that occurs on cholesterol particles, contributing to atherosclerosis. In short, it's best not to overconsume these fats.

How to choose the right fats?

• Do not be tempted by low-fat foods such as baked sufganiyot, baked chips, low-fat ice cream, etc. At first glance, they seem harmless, but remember that consuming these types of low-fat foods in large quantities will not help you lose weight or maintain a healthier diet.
• It is recommended to focus on consuming "good fats," including unsaturated fats as the primary source of fat in the diet, with smaller amounts of polyunsaturated fat and omega-3, which will have the opposite effect. This means they play an important role in stabilizing mood, maintaining mental capacity, helping to combat fatigue, and even maintaining body weight and blood sugar levels.

How can you replace bad fats with good fats?

Good fats:

• Olives: Olives are rich in unsaturated fat and therefore recommended, in moderation. You can also prepare tapenade for dip or spread, but pay attention that pickled or canned olives are high in sodium (salt), so they should be eaten in moderation.
• Avocado: Try using avocado as a spread for sandwiches instead of butter or margarine. Besides its beneficial properties for heart and brain health, it also provides a feeling of fullness.

(Photo: shutterstock)

• Regular use of extra virgin olive oil: This is the only oil that has not undergone a refining process (a chemical process). Olive oil helps reduce bad cholesterol and, according to research, can assist with various health issues. Due to its chemical structure, the oil does not oxidize easily. Use olive oil for salad dressings, spreading on baked foods, and in cooking.
• Omega-3: Good sources of omega-3 include fish like salmon, sole, mackerel, bass, mullet, anchovies, and cod, walnuts, ground flax seeds, flax oil, chia seeds, canola oil.
• Consume more nuts and seeds: You can also add nuts or pumpkin and sunflower seeds to a salad or use ground nuts instead of breadcrumbs on chicken or fish.
• Tahini: It is recommended to buy raw tahini made from whole sesame seeds and prepare it at home with water and spices. Whole tahini is rich in minerals such as iron and calcium and contains unsaturated fatty acids that are healthy for the heart and blood vessels.

"Bad fats" to reduce:

• Commercial pastries: Cookies, cakes, pies, pizza, sweets, chips, and some types of bread, like hamburger buns, derived from salty or sweet pastries baked in commercial bakeries. All of these may contain trans fat or butter (which is rich in saturated fat).
• Consumption of saturated fat, especially processed: You can reduce the amount of saturated fat you consume by lowering your intake of fatty red meat and processed meats like hot dogs, kebabs, hamburgers, and high-fat dairy products like butter and fatty cheeses.
• Use of vegetable oils like corn oil and soybean oil: Their chemical composition causes these oils to oxidize easily, a process that is not beneficial for health.
• Trans fats: Trans fat is essentially margarine. Check food labels and see if the product contains trans fat or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (these are synonyms for trans fats). Foods where the trans fat content is less than 0.5 grams (according to the nutritional table) can be consumed.
• Palm oil: This oil is increasingly used in cakes, cookies, and store-bought pastries. In terms of composition, this oil contains about 50% saturated fat, similar to animal fat. To reduce consumption of this oil, look for "palm oil" on the ingredients list. If it only says "vegetable oil," check the nutritional values table to see if the saturated fat content is around 50% of the total fat content, and if so, avoid the product.
• Frying: Prefer cooking, baking, and grilling. Also, avoid deep-fried foods like sufganiyot, fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, and fried pastries rich in trans fats. Surprisingly, deep frying absorbs less oil than shallow frying.

What can you do during Chanukah?

There are many ways to avoid all the fried foods during the holiday. You can prepare latkes that mainly contain vegetables and bake them in the oven. You can also bake the sufganiyot, improving and upgrading the recipe nutritionally. If you still do not want to give up the real, fried sufganiyah, you can decide to eat only one such sufganiyah for the entire holiday.

Einat Mazor Bakker is a clinical dietitian at the obesity clinic at DMC