Fat – what it is & why you need it

What are dietary fats?

Saturated, trans, unsaturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated. With so many different types of fats, it can become a bit confusing. How do we know which ones are ok and which ones should be avoided?

A quick science lesson. Fats are molecules made up of different elements joined together in a chain. The length and arrangement of these chains and how the molecules interact with each other determines the different fat type.

Fats are often referred to as lipids. Lipids that are liquid at room temperate are called oils, and lipids which are solid are called fats.

Fatty acids are produced when fats are broken down during digestion. They get broken off and used in the body as required. They can be saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated.

Fats are just as important to us as the other macros; protein and carbohydrates. Excess calories from eating too much fat can lead to weight gain, however a calorie surplus whatever food type it comes from will lead to an increase in weight.

Which fats are good?

Monounsaturated fats – found in nuts, vegetable oils, peanut/almond butter, avocado – Eating monounsaturated fats has been shown to improve your good cholesterol level which means that your risk of heart disease is reduced.

Polyunsaturated fats or you may know them as Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids – These ones are the “essential fats”. Our body cannot make them, so we need to rely on the food that we eat. These can reduce your bad cholesterol which in turn lowers your risk of heart disease.

Omega 3’s – Can help to lower blood pressure and protect against irregular heart rates – Found in, chia seeds, salmon, sardines, trout, walnuts, flaxseed

Omega 6 – Play an important role in brain function as well as growth and development – Found in tofu, walnuts, seeds, vegetable oils, soybeans

Which fats should be avoided or reduced?

Trans fats – You’ll find trans fats in fried foods, margarine, biscuits, cakes, pastries, processed snacks. Avoid them when possible. They might taste nice but they’re doing you no favours.

Trans fats are linked with inflammation in the body. Inflammation can cause all sorts of serious problems – diabetes, stroke, heart disease to name a few.

Our food labels are not always to be trusted. Laws around food labelling mean that food companies are allowed to round down their numbers which can be incredibly misleading. It essentially means that products can have false claims of zero trans fats. Look further than the front of the packet and check for partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list – this is what we are trying to avoid.

Saturated fats

which can be found in butter, animal fat, dark chicken/poultry skin, high fat dairy products, tropical oils, lard should be eaten sparingly.

Too much saturated fat can increase bad cholesterol (see below). However, there is much research being conducted around saturated fats with many believing that it is not as bad as we were led to believe. The current advice is that in small amounts, it can be included as part of a balanced diet.

How much fat do we need?

Oooh a subject of much debate! As with all our macronutrients there are many variables which determine how much fat we should have in our diet. Body composition, goals, activity levels, preference; it should all be considered. Generally speaking, 20 – 30% of our energy should come from fats.

Polyunsaturated fats are the fats which are most easily converted to energy, so these, as well as monounsaturated should be prioritised.

Can you eat too much?

Too much of anything isn’t good for you. That is definitely the case with our not so good fats. If you’re gaining weight, your cholesterol levels are rising or you have gastrointestinal discomfort, these could be signs that you’re eating too much fat, particularly the ones we should be avoiding. Remember that too much saturated fat and trans-fat can lead to inflammation, so if you’re feeling sluggish than check in with how much fat you are consuming.

Should I cut fat out of my diet?

No. As above, there are a tonne of reasons why we NEED dietary fats so don’t cut them out. Look at the ones that are not so great for you and try to reduce these.

Focus on eating high quality food and not cutting out whole food groups. When people cut out fat, they naturally gravitate to more processed foods which is even worse!

What about foods labelled as low fat? These ones are ok right?

Not necessarily. A food labelled as low fat is not necessarily a low-fat food it’s just 30% lower than similar products. That’s the standard for being able to call a product low fat. Misleading eh! Just because it has less fat than other similar foods, does not make it a low-fat food.

The other issue with “low fat” foods is that they get pumped full of sugar instead to enhance the flavour. Is that necessarily a problem? Yes! Speaking from experience, I have fallen into this trap before where I was choosing low fat foods, counting calories and all I cared about was how many calories were in the food, not the content of it. I was eating overly processed food with very little nutritional content.  If you haven’t read about carbs and the dangers of too much sugar, read about it here 

Instead of taking the “low fat” label as a green light, have a look at the nutrition label on the back and check for total fats, saturated and trans fats.

• High fat = more than 17.5g of fat per 100g
• Low fat = 3g of fat or less per 100g or 1.5g of fat per 100ml
• High in saturated fats = more than 5g of saturates per 100g
• Low in saturated fats = 1.5g or less per 100g or 0.75g per 100ml

Should I eat “low fat” to lose weight?

I’ll come back to it time and time again – weight loss for most people is about creating a calorie deficit not cutting out vital food groups. Make small changes, be consistent and be healthy. You wouldn’t cut food groups out of your child’s diet. You wouldn’t fill them up with “low fat” overly sugared food. You would veer towards minimally processed foods across all the different food groups. Treat yourself no differently.

What about cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced by the liver and found in some foods. It is essential to the body, and we need it to allow our body to do some important jobs. It’s a vital part of our body’s cells, it aids the production of steroid hormones, it’s used to make Vitamin D which helps to keep bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. It’s also used to make bile which helps us to digest the fats that we eat.

If you have high cholesterol, then you have too much of this fatty substance in your blood. This is bad because it can block your blood vessels leading to an increased risk of stroke and heart problems.

It can be caused by a few factors – smoking, being overweight, not exercising and eating fatty foods. It can also be hereditary.  Eating too much saturated fat raises the bad cholesterol (LDL/HDL).

Final note,

Life is about balance so don’t aim for perfection with your diet. If you choose more of the good stuff and cut back on the bad, you’re probably going to be doing ok.

However, if you need help working out how many of each macro you should be eating for you and your goals then drop me a message.