Making Friends With Fat

Throughout the years of many different fad diets, fat has gotten a pretty bad rap. We have been told over and over by food packaging everywhere that eating low fat is important, and been given the idea that eating fat will make you fat.

I am here to let you know that this idea is not true! Fat is your friend, and we have to work to see it that way.

Despite those pesky packaging images and labels, we do need some fat in our daily diet. Fat is essential for:

Energy
Having essential fatty acids our body can not make
Creation of cell walls
Absorbing vitamins A,D, E and K
Insulating our bodies and protecting our organs.

There are four types of fat.

Saturated Fat:

These are generally solid or waxy at room temperature and come mostly from animal products with the exception of tropical oils. Taking in too much saturated fat is linked with raising levels of LDL cholesterol (the ‘bad’ kind of cholesterol) in the blood and increasing internal inflammation. Healthy adults should limit their saturated fat intake to no more than 5-10% of total calories.

Trans Fat:

Trans fatty acids are formed when a liquid fat is changed into a solid fat through a process called hydrogenation. Many manufacturers use hydrogenated oils as an ingredient because it extends the shelf life and consistency of foods. Trans fat will raise levels of LDL cholesterol and decrease levels of HDL cholesterol. There are no safe levels of trans fat to eat each day, so this is one to try to avoid.

Unsaturated Fat:

These fats are usually liquid at room temperature. Sources of unsaturated fat include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are considered healthy fats as they help lower cholesterol levels and reduce levels of inflammation in your body.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated Fats:

These fats come from plant-based sources. Some are olive oil, nuts and nut butters, olives, and avocado.

Omega-3 fats are a type of polyunsaturated fat that have benefits for your heart and are associated with lowering inflammation in the body. Fish such as salmon and tuna contain Omega-3 fats. You can also find it in plant based sources like flaxseed, hemp seeds, chia seeds and walnuts.

When incorporating these healthy fats into your diet there are some things to remember. Fats are calorically dense. Every one gram of fat contains 9 calories (as opposed to 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates). This means that we do not need it in the quantities that we do protein and carbs. One serving of any fat has 45 calories and 5 grams of fat. Here are some examples of adding in a serving fat into your day: