Fat: Types, Nutrition and Health Benefits

Low fat, No fat? Give fat a try. Dietary fats are crucial for preserving general health, particularly as you get older. What you need to know is that your body needs a regular intake of fat. Your body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients is aided by fat, which also helps provide your body energy, protect your organs, support cell growth, and maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. When you place too much emphasis on eliminating all fat, you risk depriving your body of the nutrients it requires the most.

There are two different forms of fats:

You need to take a deeper look at the two types of dietary fats—saturated and unsaturated—to comprehend the role that fats play in a healthy diet. (Trans fats, a third type, have virtually disappeared from foods in the United States.)

Saturated:

Animal goods like beef and pork as well as high-fat dairy foods like butter, margarine, cream, and cheese are the main sources of it. Additionally, many fast, processed, and baked foods including pizza, sweets, hamburgers, cookies, and pastries contain high levels of saturated fat. Compared to healthy fats, these fats are more solid (think butter or lard).

Unsaturated:

There are two varieties of this healthful type:

Omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids are examples of polyunsaturated fats. Walnuts, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and fish including salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, and trout are all rich sources of polyunsaturated fats. They can also be found in plant-based oils such as soybean, corn, and safflower oils.

Dietary fats’ impact on cholesterol levels is the biggest health concern they pose. High saturated fat intake increases LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) (bad) cholesterol levels, which can cause plaque to build in the arteries and raise your risk of heart disease and stroke.

A lot of processed and quick foods created with saturated fat also contain a lot of calories, which can cause weight gain and increase your risk of heart disease.

In contrast, unsaturated fats support the increase of HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) (good) cholesterol. Extra LDL in the blood is taken up by HDL and sent to the liver, where it is metabolized and excreted. Unsaturated fats can aid in achieving a high HDL-to-LDL ratio.

Trans fat:

Trans fats are produced in a lab. They are the result of a process where liquid vegetable oils are made more solid by the addition of hydrogen. Trans fats are also referred to as partially hydrogenated oils.

Trans fats are harmful to your health and are not necessary. Trans fats cause a reduction in HDL cholesterol while increasing LDL cholesterol levels. This raises the danger of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Due to their ease of use and low cost of production, trans fats gained popularity among food manufacturers. They can impart a pleasant flavor to meals and have a long shelf life. Trans fats are widely employed in fast food chains and other eateries because they may be used multiple times in commercial fryers.

The WHO has nevertheless urged governments to remove trans fats from the world’s food supply. Trans fats are no longer included in most commercial food production firms’ products.

Among the sources of trans fats are:

• french fries, doughnuts, pies, pastries, biscuits, and other baked products that have been fried
• crackers, cookies, and pizza dough
• stick shortenings and margarine
• canned goods
• quick meals

Trans fats are included in a product if any ingredient list on food packaging includes the phrase “partially hydrogenated oils.”

Food recommendations for fat:

To prevent unhealthy weight increase, the WHO advises:

• Ideally, fewer than 30% of total calories should come from fat.
• saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10% of total calorie intake.
• the recommended daily consumption of trans fat is no more than 1% of total calories.

Health experts advise substituting monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for saturated and trans fats. Overall, your diet should include sufficient calories to keep a healthy weight and be nutritionally complete.

Giving the brain food:

Consuming more good fat and less bad fat has the added benefit of promoting brain health. According to studies, people who adhere to the MIND diet have a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The MIND diet recommends consuming fewer portions of five foods and more of ten specific foods. Nuts, fatty fish, and olive oil are examples of foods high in beneficial fats, whereas butter, cheese, red meat, pastries, and fried and fast foods are examples of foods high in unhealthy saturated fat.

In a 2015 study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, more than 900 participants ranging in age from 58 to 98 completed food questionnaires and performed numerous neurological tests. According to the study, people whose diets most closely matched the MIND recommendations had cognitive abilities comparable to those of someone who was over seven years younger.

Inflammation may play a role in the link between good fats and better brains. Saturated fat-rich diets increase inflammation, whereas eating unsaturated fats can reduce the inflammatory response.

Make sure you will not go coconut oil crazy. Despite being advertised as good oil, coconut oil contains 82 percent dangerous saturated fat, and the American Heart Association stated in 2017 that there is no proof that it has any health advantages. Although it might be preferable to saturated fat derived from animals, you are advised against using it as your main source of fat on a daily basis. If at all you are using it, use it sparingly.

Think twice about quality:

What amount of dietary fat do you consume each day? One of the most updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans no longer recommends a certain fat intake. They continue to stress, however, that saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10% of total calories every day.

It is contended that concentrating on quality rather than quantity is simpler. You simply need to increase the amount of mono- and polyunsaturated fats in your diet and reduce the number of saturated fats.

Does Eating Fat Increase Your Weight?

So, you could believe that the obesity pandemic afflicting our country right now is caused by fat. The issue is not solely related to fat. Overindulging in a particular nutrient is only a small part of what causes obesity. Weight gain results from consuming more calories than you burn off, including calories from fats, carbs, protein, and alcohol. Simply put, people who have a diet heavy in calories and minimal physical activity will gain weight. The formula for weight gain also considers genetics, age, sex, and way of life.

Despite this, dietary fat has a big impact on obesity. At 9 calories per gram, fat has a higher calorie density than carbohydrates, protein, and alcohol, which have 4 and 4 calories per gram, respectively. Because fats are present in so many of the foods we enjoy—including cheese, cakes, pastries, thick steaks, ice cream, and processed foods—it is simple to overeat them.

And consuming too much fat has effects beyond just making us gain weight. Our obsession with fat has contributed to an uptick in type 2 diabetes, certain malignancies, and heart disease rates.

Choosing the proper types of dietary fats to ingest is one of the most critical elements in minimizing the risk of developing heart disease.

While choosing healthy fats is better for your heart, all fats have the same number of calories when it comes to your waistline. Additionally, reducing the total amount of fat in your diet can improve your health and length of life in addition to helping you lose weight.

There is a substantial relationship between being overweight and several types of cancer, including breast cancer among postmenopausal women, and colon cancer. Although eating less total fat will not cut your risk of cancer directly, doing so can help you manage your weight, which can lessen your chance of cancer.

Making Nutritious Food Decisions:

All meals are derived from animals and some sources of plants include fats.

The foods listed below may contain a lot of saturated fats. Many of them are also deficient in nutrition and have added sugar calories.

• a baked good (cake, doughnuts, Danish)
• fried food (fried chicken, fried seafood, French fries)
• processed or fatty meats (bacon, sausage, chicken with skin, cheeseburger, steak)
• dairy products with whole fat (butter, ice cream, pudding, cheese, whole milk)
• coconut oil, palm, and palm kernel oils are examples of solid fats (found in packaged foods)

Here are some examples of common foodstuffs and how much-saturated fat is present in a serving:

• Steak- 20g, 12 ounces (oz), or 340 g
• Cheeseburger- 10g
• Vanilla shake- 8g
• 7 g in 1 tbsp (15 mL) of butter

Treating yourself to these foods occasionally is acceptable. However, it is best to moderate your consumption of them and your portion sizes when you do.

By choosing healthier foods in place of less healthy ones, you can reduce the amount of saturated fat you consume. Foods with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats should be substituted for those high in saturated fats. How to begin going is as follows:

• On a couple of days per week, swap red meat for skinless chicken or fish.
• Butter and other solid fats should be substituted with canola or olive oil.
• Substitute low-fat or nonfat dairy products for whole-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
• Increase your consumption of fresh produce, whole grains, and other foods with low or no saturated fat.