HMHB's Simple Guide to FATS

A Simple guide to:

FATS

Dietary fats are essential to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They also help protect your organs and help keep your body warm. Fats help your body absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones, too. Your body definitely needs fat.

There are four major dietary fats in the foods we eat:

·         Saturated Fats

·         Trans Fats

These two are considered “bad fats”

·         Monounsaturated Fats

·         Polyunsaturated Fats

These two are considered “good fats”

Fats can have different effects on the cholesterol levels in your body. The bad fats, saturated fats and Trans fats, raise bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your blood. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats can lower bad cholesterol levels and are beneficial when consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance known as a lipid and is vital for the normal functioning of the body. It's mainly made by the liver, but can also be found in some foods.

Having an excessively high level of lipids in your blood (hyperlipidaemia) can have an effect on your health.

High cholesterol itself doesn't usually cause any symptoms, but it increases your risk of serious health conditions

Back to fats!!!

Saturated Fat

The "saturated" in "saturated fats" refers to the fact that these fats are saturated with hydrogen and carbon atoms. They contain these atoms in as many places as possible; hence they are "saturated."

Which foods contain saturated fat?

Foods that are high in saturated fat include:

·         butter, lard and ghee (oil made from butter)

·         fatty meats and meat products, such as sausages and pies

·         full-fat milk

·         cream, sour cream, crème fraîche and ice cream

·         cheese, particularly hard cheese

·         some savoury snacks, such as pork scratchings

·         coconut oil, coconut cream and palm oil

·         biscuits, cakes and pastries

·         chocolates and some sweets

Yes – most of the above are nice. And nobody should stop eating cake, we say. But it is important to realise that you need to cut down on foods with saturated fat, as this will eventually have a detrimental effect on your body.

Trans Fats

Why does it have to be the tasty items?

Trans fats, also known as Trans fatty acids or TFA, are a type of fat found in small amounts in a wide variety of foods. They are considered a ‘bad’ fat because, like saturated fats, they can increase levels of LDL-cholesterol in the blood. Trans fats can also decrease the level of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, and may increase the level of triglycerides, another type of fat in the blood.
Trans fats occur naturally in small amounts in dairy and meat products, such as cheese, milk, cream, lamb, pork and beef.
There are also industrial trans fats, which can be produced through a process called ‘partial hydrogenation’. Partial hydrogenation solidifies and partially hardens vegetable oil, a process that food manufacturers find useful in the production of fried foods as well as baked foods, like biscuits, pies, and cakes. Heating vegetable oils to a very high temperature (such as in a deep fat fryer) can also produce trans fats, which is why takeaway foods, doughnuts, and a number of fried sweet foods are occasionally culprits as well

It is very difficult to avoid saturated and Trans fats, but it is important to remember that in excess they will damage you long term. Limit the amounts you have.

But there are good fats – “unsaturated fats” – come in mono and poly.

Unsaturated fats are an important part of a healthy diet. These fats help reduce the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol levels (among other health benefits) when they replace saturated fats in the diet.

There are two main types of unsaturated fats:

Polyunsaturated fats:

• omega-3 fats which are found in fish, especially oily fish
• omega-6 fats which are found in some oils such as safflower and soybean oil, along with some nuts, including Brazil nuts.
• omega-9 fats, also found in some oils

Monounsaturated fats:

• found in olive and canola oil, avocados and some nuts, such as cashews and almonds

Conclusion

Fats are an essential part of our diet and are important for good health. There are different types of fats, with some fats being healthier than others. To help make sure you stay healthy, it is important to eat unsaturated fats in small amounts as part of a balanced diet.

When eaten in large amounts, all fats, including healthy fats, can contribute to weight gain. Fat is higher in energy (kilojoules) than any other nutrient and so eating less fat overall is likely to help with weight loss.

Eating less saturated and Trans fats may help lower your risk of heart disease. When buying products check the labels and choose the varieties that are lower in saturated and Trans fats and higher in poly and monounsaturated fats.

So a diet that is low in saturated fats and Trans fats, but that also includes moderate amounts of unsaturated fats will help you stay healthy