Healthy and Unhealthy fats

Understanding Fats

A healthy diet can include carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables and fruits as sources of fiber and fats. You need to have a balanced diet to get the maximum benefit of food on your body. Fat is as essential to your diet as protein and carbohydrates are in fuelling your body with energy. Certain bodily functions also rely on the presence of fat. For example, some vitamins require fat to dissolve into your bloodstream and provide nutrients.

 However, fats have got a bad reputation when it comes to health. Some fats and fat-like substances like cholesterol may play a role in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.

But we cannot say that all fats are bad. Some fats are better for you than others and may even help to promote good health. It is better to know the difference and find out which type of fats to avoid and which to eat in moderation.

Dietary fats

Dietary fat, also known as fatty acids, can be found in foods from both plants and animals. Certain fats have been linked to negative effects on heart health, but others have been found to offer significant health benefits. 

However, the excess calories from consuming extra fat of any type can lead to weight gain. Foods and oils contain a mixture of fatty acids, but their predominant fat makes them more healthy or less healthy.

Types of fats

1, Healthy fats

Some fats are good for your health and don’t have any role in heart disease or its risk. When you eat healthy fats and avoid unhealthy fats, they can help protect your body against heart disease by lowering your blood cholesterol levels. However, even these healthy fats are high in calories, and most will raise your triglyceride levels.

Foods that contain these healthy fats are in a liquid state at room temperature, for example, vegetable oil. Foods like nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans), vegetable oils (olive oil, peanut oil), peanut butter and almond butter contain healthy fats.

You have to eat healthy fats in limit too. These healthy fats are:

A, Polyunsaturated fats

B, Monounsaturated fats

C, Omega-3 fatty acids

A, Polyunsaturated fats 

These are vegetable oils that stay liquid at room temperature. Best examples are safflower, corn, soybean, cottonseed and sunflower oils. Soft tub margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressings also contain polyunsaturated fat. You can use these fats in place of saturated, hydrogenated, and trans fats to improve your ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

B, Monounsaturated fats 

These are vegetable oils that also are liquid at room temperature. The best examples are olive oil (and olives), avocados, canola oil, and peanut oil (and peanuts). Replacing saturated fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats can help lower LDL “bad” cholesterol without lowering the HDL “good” cholesterol.

C, Omega-3 fatty acids 

Omega-3 fatty acids from marine sources are considered heart-healthy because they lower the level of triglycerides (or fats) and cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. They also discourage unwanted blood clotting. 

Good sources are fatty fish especially salmon, halibut, mackerel, tuna, sardines, sea bass, herring, pompano, and lake trout. Eat fish 2 to 3 times a week. Vegetarian sources of omega-3 fatty acids are flax seeds, walnuts, canola oil, soybean and soy products, though, vegetarian sources may not be as effective.

2, Unhealthy Fats

Unhealthy fats are harmful to your heart and blood vessel system as they increase your body’s production of cholesterol. Unhealthy fats also cause clogging of your blood vessels. If there is a block in the blood flow to your heart, this can lead to a heart attack. 

If the blood vessels in your brain are blocked, this can lead to a stroke. Unhealthy fats increase your risk for coronary heart disease and need to be taken in limited amounts in your diet. They are of the following types:

A, Saturated fats

B, Hydrogenated fats

C, Trans fats

A, Saturated Fats

They usually come from animal sources and are naturally solid at room temperature. Examples are lard, butter, milk fat, meat, chicken, ice cream and cheese. Coconut and palm oils are naturally solid at room temperature as well. These tropical oils contain high amounts of saturated fats.

B, Hydrogenated fats 

These are created by a chemical process that turns liquid vegetable oils into semi-solid or solid fats at room temperature. Hydrogenation sometimes turns oils into trans fat.  Trans fats are particularly unhealthy but are used as a key ingredient for packaged snacks, baked items and fast foods. You need to avoid products made with hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils and go for healthier options. 

C, Trans Fats 

They have been identified as potentially harmful to your health. Most of the foods that contain these types of fats are solid at room temperature, such as butter, margarine, etc. Trans fat should be avoided while saturated fats should be eaten very sparingly.

Do you really need fats?

1, Dietary fats are essential to give your body energy and to support cell function. They also help protect your organs and help keep your body warm.

2, Fats help your body absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones, too.

3, Fats can also have different effects on the cholesterol levels in your body. A diet high in saturated fats and trans fats raises bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your blood.

4, Eating food that is higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can lower bad cholesterol levels. Health experts generally recommend replacing saturated fats and trans fats with monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Consuming high levels of saturated or trans fats can also lead to heart disease and stroke.

5, There are nine calories in every gram of fat, regardless of what type of fat it is. Fats are more energy-dense than carbohydrates and proteins, which provide four calories per gram.

6, Consuming high-calorie food can lead to weight gain or being overweight.

7, Foods labeled zero trans fat or cooked with trans fat-free oils may contain a lot of saturated fats, which raise your bad cholesterol levels. 

Eating foods with fat is definitely part of a healthy diet. To choose healthier fats, use liquid non-tropical plant oils; low-fat or non-fat instead of full-fat dairy. Balance the amount of calories you eat from all foods with the number of calories you use through physical activity is the key. Doctors consider monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat more “heart-healthy” fats. These are fats that are better choices for your diet.