Do you know why you need fat in your diet? Firstly, it provides you with energy not only immediately but the stored fat in your body helps to keep you active when your energy stores from carbohydrate have run out. Fat provides you with the well needed layer of insulation not only in the cooler months but helps support our organs and bones as well as acts like the cushioning of a running shoe on the soles of our feet.
So this means all fats are good? Unfortunately the story is not that simple. There are different types of fats which influence our body in different ways. Saturated and Trans fats increase LDL cholesterol or what we call the ‘bad’ cholesterol. This type of cholesterol sticks to the blood vessel walls and increases the work of the body to pump blood throughout the body, as a result it increases the risk of heart disease as well as increasing the risk of insulin resistance linked to conditions like obesity as well as increases the inflammatory effects in out body.
The sources of Trans fats can be found mostly in the ‘sometimes foods’ like:
- Cakes
- Biscuits
- Fried foods
- Margarine
- Pastry
- Doughnuts
- Snack chips
- Cereal products
Saturated fats are part of full fat animal products like:
- Milk
- Cheese
- Butter
- Yoghurt
If you leave the fat on the meat this is saturated fat. However there are also plant or non-animal sources of saturated fat. Did you know that coconut oil has more saturated fat component than butter! Other non-animal saturated fats includes cocoa butter, palm oil and palm kernel oil.
The other types of fats or unsaturated fats are called monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats can be broken up further into Omega 3 and 6. These are the friends of the blood and body as they increase the HDL cholesterol or the ‘good’ cholesterol. This type of cholesterol helps to clear the LDL cholesterol from the blood stream and decreases the risk of heart disease, inflammation and insulin resistance.
Monounsaturated fats can be found in products like:
- Olive oil
- Canola oil
- Peanut Oil
- Macadamia nut oil
- Avocado
Polyunsaturated fats can be found in different foods, the omega 3 type can be found in:
- Fish
- Oils like canola, walnut, flaxseed, wheat germ and soybean
- Vegetables e.g. soybean
- Nuts and seeds e.g. almonds, flaxseeds, walnuts, soybean kernels.
The omega 6 type of polyunsaturated fat can be found in:
- Vegetable oils e.g. corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean and cottonseed.
- Poultry fat
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Eggs
- Meat and poultry (note that animals contain both saturated and unsaturated types of fats, one reason we should eat a balanced diet).
How much fat do you need? The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommend that if you are considered a healthy adult that your diet is made up of no more than 20-35% total fat. With the saturated and trans fats no more than 8% of our diet, monounsaturated fats 20% and polyunsaturated fats between 8-10%. Fish is a really nutritious food source and is recommended 2-3 times a week with a serving being 100g.
Now you understand why all fats are not the same and how to be fat savvy to keep your body healthy in the long term.
References:
- Stewart R. Griffith Handbook of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. 4 ed. Queensland, Australia: Griffiths University; 2010. 252 p.
- Health tips. The skinny on fats. Mayo Clinic health letter (English ed). 2004;22(2):3.
- Whitney E, Rady Rolfes S, Crowe T, Cameron-Smith D, Walsh A. Understanding nutrition: Australian and New Zealand. South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning; 2014.
