The word "fat" has a negative connotation in society. It’s not a good word at all. Which is probably why a lot of people avoid it in their diets like the plague. Avoiding some fats like trans fats and saturated fats is a good thing. Those fats can cause a lot of different problems like pre-mature aging, heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and the always hideous subcutaneous body fat. Avoiding good healthy fats is not a good thing.

Here’s why—Eating healthy fats in your diet on a regular, everyday basis, is critical to your overall health. Some of the functions of fat in the body are for aiding in vitamin and mineral utilization, enzyme regulation, energy (9 calories per gram), healthy hair and nails, and helping your burn body fat throughout the day. And I’m not talking about essential fatty acids, even though that’s just as important if not more so to get into your diet. I’m talking healthy fats mono- and polyunsaturated.

A lot of health professionals, dieticians, and doctors say that in order to get and stay lean you need to be on a low-fat diet. This is wrong. This is the old way of thinking, a lot like do "cardio" everyday for an hour to lose weight. It’s the unnatural, processed fat that you want to avoid. Anytime you cut back on 1 of the 3 macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) severely, then something in the body needs to react and perform double duty. Meaning your body is not performing at an optimal level.

Fat intake should be at about 20-30% of your daily calories, with less than 10% coming from saturated fats, and less than 2% from trans fats. These are the "experts" recommendations. However, nothing ever good will come from you eating trans fats. It should literally be 0%. And not all saturated fats are bad for you. Eggs, coconut, and avocado are all great sources of saturated fat, but contain much more healthy benefits that you should not avoid. You want the majority coming from healthy fats. And let’s try and avoid trans fats all together; nothing good will ever come from digesting it.

So what are healthy fats? Some good healthy fat choices are olive oil (if I cook it on the stove, I always add it), nuts (any kind), avocados, guacamole, seeds, fish, coconut oil, palm oil, canola oil, nut butters (peanut, cashew, almond, etc…), and whole eggs (best saturated fat you can eat).

Jason Yun, CSCS, CISSN is a Columbus Body Transformation Expert who runs Yun Fitness Boot Camps in Hilliard and Dublin, and teaches the Metabolism Makeover Weight Management Program in Columbus. For a FREE 2-week trial of his boot camps visit http://www.Yunbootcamps.com/specialoffer.html or call 614-432-9703. Visit http://www.YunNutrition.com to learn more about the Metabolism Makeover Program.

There really is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to eggs. Mainly the difference between egg whites and the yolk. Most people believe, and have been told time and time again that egg yolks are bad for you. They’re loaded with cholesterol, and increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other bad things.

Well, I’m here to tell you differently. Eggs are one of my favorite foods. They are probably the world’s most perfect food. As a natural food item they pack the best protein source in the world. And without a shadow of a doubt are extremely healthy for you. And the yolk is actually the healthiest part of the egg.

If you throw out the yolk, you’re pretty much throwing out the nutrition. The egg white is almost completely devoid of any vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. You get calcium, iron, riboflavin, B12, selenium (huge cancer fighter), phosphorous, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, all the fat soluble vitamins, and a whole lot more super powerful nutrients.

But what about the cholesterol? Before I get into that, let’s talk about an essential nutrient that eggs are a superstar provider of—Choline. It’s an essential nutrient because you must obtain it from the diet, much like essential fatty acids. It is essential for brain, cell membranes, and cardiovascular function. It’s part of a phospholipid that I can’t pronounce and you need not worry about knowing the name of. But without adequate amounts of it, both cholesterol and fat will accumulate in the liver. So the choline in eggs actually stops the accumulation of fat and cholesterol in the liver!

Many studies have come out saying that dietary cholesterol doesn’t raise cholesterol levels significantly. It is much more affected by saturated and trans fats. You should be getting less than 10% of your total calories from saturated fats, and 0% from trans fats—Yes, they are that evil!

Many people don’t know this but the body actually makes cholesterol in the body. If you don’t eat enough cholesterol in your diet, the body produces more. If you do eat foods high in cholesterol, like whole eggs, then the body lessens the amount it will produce. Cholesterol plays a hand in many important functions in the body. You actually can’t live without it.

So don’t be afraid of the yolk. It’s good for you. Each large egg contains 70 calories and 6.3 grams of protein. So add some vegetables, or fruit, and it makes a great snack. You should be getting protein with each of your meals throughout the day anyway, and there is no natural food item protein better than whole eggs.

Another great thing about eggs is the variety you can use them with. There are so many different ways to prepare eggs. I must confess I do eat my eggs raw some time. Rocky! Rocky! The question of salmonella comes up then. Actually a study done by the USDA found that of 69 billion eggs produced annually only .3 percent are contaminated at all. Salmonella appears only when the eggs come from sick birds. If you’re buying your eggs from a reputable company the chances are super slim of getting bad eggs.

Back to egg whites. These are fine if you are trying to watch your fat intake or calorie intake. But unless you’re a professional body builder preparing for a show, you don’t need 100% egg whites. You’re missing out on super important brain, eye, and overall health food nutrition. Plus it tastes a whole lot better.

Jason Yun, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist, is a Columbus fitness bootcamp and weight management teacher. To book him to speak at your local Columbus organization please contact him by email at jyun@yunbootcamps.com or by phone at 614-432-9703. For a free 2-week trial to his Bootcamps go to: http://www.yunbootcamps.com/specialoffer.html or http://www.yunnutrition.com