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Understanding Fats
There is a stigma attached to the word fat. Being fat is regarded as being unattractive and fat people are the butt of everyone’s jokes. While beauty is essentially a matter of individual perception, it is the health risks associated with overweight and obesity that should set you thinking as to why you need to lose fat. Fats are an important part of the human diet. Fats give us energy to keep ourselves going and are needed by the body to build cell membranes, nerve tissue and hormones. Due to their ability to trap heat, fats act as an insulator providing us warmth in extreme cold. Fats are important for a healthy skin and good hair. They also help absorb fat-soluble vitamins including A, D, E and K and move them around the body. Isn’t that a handsome contribution to our health and general being? Indeed and this is precisely why you should never think of cutting out fats from your diet completely. The Fats Family: A Character Sketch 1. Saturated fats * Whole-fat milk and cream The problem with eating stuff that contains saturated fats is that it makes the level of cholesterol in your blood rise. A high level of blood cholesterol implies a greater risk of heart disease and stroke. And since many foods high in saturated fats are high in cholesterol as well, there’s all the more reason to keep your guard up. 2. Trans fats Trans fats are found in fried foods and commercially baked foods such as: If saturated fats are bad, trans fats are villainous. They are like a multi-edged sword! They increase your bad cholesterol level (LDL) and lower your good cholesterol level (HDL). So, you know your risk for heart disease and stroke rises. But as if this were not enough, trans fats also make you prone to developing Type 2 diabetes. 3. Monounsaturated fats * Olive oil Eaten in moderation, monounsaturated fats can have a positive effect on your health. Unlike saturated and trans fats, these can help bring down bad cholesterol levels in your blood and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. They provide nutrients to help develop and maintain your body’s cells and are typically high in vitamin E. 4. Polyunsaturated fats * Soybean oil Polyunsaturated fats offer the same health benefits as the monounsaturated fats. The best thing about these fats is that they also include Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids which the human body needs but can’t produce itself, and which are essential for the proper functioning of the brain and the normal growth and development of the body. The Big Question: What to Eat and How Much
Now, you know that you should consume saturated and trans fats only minimally and try and replace them with mono and polyunsaturated fats. Replace solid fats with liquid oils. Eat more of fish and nuts. Have beans or legumes in place of meat to the extent possible. Always look for the nutrition facts on food packs you buy. At the restaurant, ask what oil the food is cooked in. Remember, the different categories of fats are different only to the extent that some are beneficial to your health while others are harmful. However, in terms of calories, all fats contain nine calories per gram. Which means that all fats are equally high in calories. Consuming more than the recommended amount of fats is an invitation to the unwanted fat accumulating in different parts of your body making you both unhealthy and unattractive. An extra word on trans fats. Trans fats occur naturally too in some meat and dairy products. Beef, lamb and butterfat are examples. It is yet to be established if these are as bad as those obtained through industrial processes. Yet, it is preferable to limit your consumption of trans fats to those obtained from natural sources. Another point to remember is that foods labeled as “Trans fat free” are not automatically healthy as they may contain saturated fats. Besides, most of these foods tend to be high in sugar content and low in other nutrients, making them unhealthy in other ways.
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This means that it is not a question of whether to include fats in your diet but which ones to include and in what quantities. The following table tackles this question.
