Facts about Fats
Fat is an excellent source of energy and performs many essential functions within the body. Certain vitamins (fat soluble) can only be obtained from fat, and these are crucial for maintaining the nutritional balance we need. Fat holds your internal organs in place, makes up a large percentage of your brain and helps to connect your skin to your frame. It is therefore, certainly NOT advisable to cut fat out of your diet.
You may have heard the term essential fatty acids, (EFA’s); these are simply fats that are (as the name suggests) essential for the body to function. Our bodies cannot manufacture these types of fat, so we must have them in our diet. The most prominent EFS are:
- Omega 3 (alpha linolenic) found in oily fish
- Omega 6 (cis linoleic)found in vegetable oils and grains
- Arachidonic acid is semi essential as the body can manufacture it providing it has a good supply of other nutrients
EFA’s are vital for the health of your heart and circulatory system, as well as many other bodily functions. Not getting enough EFA’s can lead to a deterioration in health and ultimately, to death. (Symptoms of deficiency – other than death! are listed later).
EFA’s are found in sunflower, corn, sesame, pumpkin and linseed oils and some fresh nuts. Other good food sources include fish (salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines) and fish oils. Although all whole, fresh unprocessed foods contain some EFA’s, these EFA’s go through many changes once digested, as the body has to break them down and refine them into useable substances. Many of us take in enough EFA’s in the diet, but unfortunately we also take in other foods that can block the breakdown of EFA’s and prevent them from doing their valuable work.
These foods include saturated fats, cholesterol, large amounts of alcohol and high levels of sugar. We should therefore, not only think about how much fat we need but also look at the quality of the fat we are taking in. If you consider that every single cell in our body contains fat to support its membrane, you can see why the right quality is so important. It’s what we are made of. If we don’t take in enough of the good quality fats, we can’t use them to make our cells. Would you really like to be made from second class materials?
Symptoms of EFA deficiency:
- Eczema or dry skin
- Hair loss
- Liver or kidney degeneration
- Excessive water loss
- Susceptibility to infections
- Failure to heal
- Inflammatory conditions e.g. arthritis
- Heart and circulatory problems
- Deterioration of vision
- Breakdown of nerve impulses within the muscles
- Loss of motor skills (the ability to control muscle actions)
And so the list goes on.
With many other major and minor conditions now being linked to the lack of vital EFA’s, it is vital that we take in sufficient quantities through our diet and avoid foods that block their absorption.
Having established the importance of EFA’s, it is worth considering that most of us still eat more dietary fat than we need and eat fat of poor quality; in other words we eat too much of the bad stuff and not enough of the good stuff! We store this surplus fat on our bodies. A high intake of the wrong kinds of fat drastically increases the chances of suffering heart disease, heart attack and many other serious illnesses.
The fat we eat is broken down into fatty acids, which will either be used to produce energy or be placed in storage in the fat cells. This stored fat is called adipose tissue; it is also sometimes called cellulite. The only time that fat comes out of the fat cells is when it is burnt as fuel. Fat cannot be broken down by any cream or potion, it is a fuel and any excess is either stored or burned.
Fat cells are constantly active, with fat going into and coming out all the time. If you maintain a balance between what you burn and what you consume, you won’t get fatter. If the balance is tipped the wrong way however, and you eat more than you burn, the fat cells will get bigger (see later section for “Facts About Fat”).
Fat is either saturated i.e. solid at room temperature, or unsaturated (liquid at room temperature). Most saturated fats are of animal origin (exceptions include coconut oil and palm oil) and contain high levels of cholesterol, which is another fatty substance present in animal fat. Cholesterol can clog up arteries and restrict arteries if consumed in excess.
There are two types of cholesterol; good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL) and bad cholesterol (Low Density lipoprotein LPL). It is the ratio between the two that is important. LDL carries cholesterol through the body and deposits excess amounts in the blood vessels. HDL mops up this excess and carries it back to the liver where it can be broken down and excreted by the body. Dietary Fibre helps this process.
If the level of LDL is much higher than the level of HDL, then more cholesterol is deposited than can be cleared, and this may lead to a blockage.
Although every cell in the body has a need for cholesterol, the body is able to manufacture all it needs, providing you are eating a nutritionally balanced diet.
It is saturated fat that has been associated with heart disease. To restrict your intake of both saturated fat and cholesterol, reduce the amount of meat and meat products you eat, and always choose lean cuts. Despite popular belief, beef is not exceptionally high in cholesterol and, in this respect, can be compared equally with chicken or fish. However the total saturated content of beef is relatively high, so it should be eaten in moderation.
Unsaturated fats are considered to be healthier than saturated fats. In fact, some unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, seem to be health protective. A sprinkling of this oil on a salad or when cooking a stir fry, is a good way to get the essential vitamins provided by fat without the associated problems of saturated fats.
Fish – in particular oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines, are a good source of high quality fat. The oils found in this fish can help prevent heart disease, since they block many harmful reactions that can cause the blood to clot easily. The way you prepare your fish is also very important, don’t fry it in butter or cover it in creamy sauce.
If you don’t like fish, you may be tempted by the range of fish oil capsules currently on the market. Some of the higher quality brands available in many health food stores are well worth taking. Always read the label before you buy, assistants in health shops are generally knowledgeable about the best kind of supplements. When you actually look at the amount of nutrients you are getting for your money, the more expensive brands often end up cheaper in the long run, as more of the nutrients they contain can be absorbed by the body than those in the cheaper alternatives.
It is worth remembering that fat is often hidden behind other names in menus and recipes. For example, cream is essentially fat, but somehow fat of chicken soup or ice fat doesn’t sound quite so appetising does it? In reality however, that is exactly what you are eating. Just ask yourself, do I want to wear this more than I want to eat it?
Remember – some fat is essential, so select high quality oils and keep to a minimum the amount of saturated fat you eat.
Plan your meals thoughtfully to ensure you get the right balance of EFA’s, whilst minimising the amount of SFA.
Category: Weight Loss Tips
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