The bulk of our diet is made up of fat. They are important for our health and the function of our bodies.
Fat has been seen as the cause of many health problems and the source of the obesity epidemic in America. There may be an element of truth to this, but there are different forms of fat that can be beneficial and detrimental. We can hopefully develop a more rounded view of fat with clearer guidelines.
A key part of a fat-laden diet is the amount of fat. Why do we need dietary fat? Read on to find out more.
Saturated or unsaturated fat provides nine calories per gram, but the quality, health benefits and risks are vastly different.
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Laura Clark told Live Science that fat gives us essential fatty acids which we can't make in the body. It allows us to store the vitamins A, D, E and K.
Fat fills fat cells, protects organs, and keeps hair and skin healthy. Brain development, blood clotting and inflammatory control can be aided by essential fatty acids.
Saturated fat.
Saturated fats are mostly found in animal sources such as meat and dairy, although some plant sources such as coconut oil can also contain them. A saturated fat is made up of chains of carbon atoms.
Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, according to a Miami-based nutritionist and national spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She used lard as an example. Other examples include:
According to a study in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, overconsumption of saturated fats is one of the leading causes of Obesity and related conditions in adults.
The Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fat and high in healthy fats.
Trans fats are also called trans fat acids.
Liquid vegetable oils are heated with hydrogen in a process called hydrogenation to cause trans fatty acids. Extra hydrogen atoms are binding to empty spaces along chains of carbon atoms. Unsaturated fats have spaces along the chain of carbon atoms, instead of being full or saturated with hydrogen atoms. Fast food restaurants often use them in deep fryers because they don't have to change the oil as often.
margarine, shortening and olive oil spreads are trans fats. They can be found in food.
Trans fats are the worst fats for us because they are more stable and less likely to go rancid. Trans fats are not recommended because of the link to heart disease. They raise bad cholesterol and good cholesterol.
In order to reduce inflammation, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports the phasing out of trans fats over time and returning to fats in their natural form, such as olive oil. Cancer and chronic diseases can be caused by inflammation.
There are Triglycerides.
Our bodies use Triglycerides in the blood for energy or to store it for later use. When we eat, our bodies convert calories that they don't need right away into triglycerides, which they then store in fat cells to be released for energy between meals.
According to a study in the American Journal of Cardiology, high blood triglyceride levels are a sign of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, because of poor diet and activity. To keep blood triglyceride levels low, you should aim to get at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a day and eat a balanced diet.
The guidelines for healthy triglyceride levels are provided by the Mayo Clinic.
Your triglyceride levels can be revealed by a blood test.
There are Monounsaturated fats.
Unsaturated double-bonded carbon chains are found in monounsaturated fatty acids. These fats can promote good cholesterol levels in your body. To maintain good health and prevent the build up of LDL in veins and arteries, it is important to strike a balance between HDL and LDL.
Examples include:
A study found that consumption of stearic acid leads to positive cardiovascular outcomes. According to a study in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, the promotion of HDL cholesterol may lead to a reduction of inflammation in the body.
There are Polyunsaturated fats.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids have a double carbon bond in their chain with empty spaces for hydrogen. Polyunsaturated fats are found in a variety of animal and plant sources. Our bodies can't make omega 3 or 6 so it's important to get enough of both from our diet.
Most of the polyunsaturated fats are found in plant food sources. They are present in many types of fish, including salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel and trout.
A study shows that high levels of omega 6 can contribute to the development or worsening of cardiovascular diseases.
If you don't consume oily fish once or twice a week, you should take Omega-3 supplements. 40% of our brain cell walls are made up of long chain fatty acids and they are important for our cognitive function.
The USDA advises that less than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat. 70% of Americans are consuming more than this, which has led to an increase in health problems such as cardiovascular disease.
According to public health guidance, the average man has 95g of fat and the average woman has 70g. Saturated fat is the type of fat which is linked to raised cholesterol levels and heart disease. We should not have more than 10% of our energy coming from saturated fat, which equates to 30g for men and 20g for women.
Eliminating fat too much can have serious health consequences. The fat in the intestines is needed to properly absorb the vitamins and minerals. The vitamins are needed for the health of your skin, bones and cardiovascular system.
The average adult should get 20% of their calories from healthy fat sources. An adult on a 2,000- calories-a-day diet could eat up to 78g of fat in a day. Some of the healthiest fat sources include olive oil, salmon, tuna, walnuts, and chia seeds.
Reducing saturated fat in our diet can help you to lose weight, but you need to consider your whole diet. Our health risk will be affected by what the fat is replaced with, as this too will have an impact on the controversy surrounding fat.
The balance of fats in the diet is important, with the emphasis placed on the benefits of nuts, seeds, and plant oils. The type of cholesterol that protects us is associated with these.
There are additional resources.
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