Fats are an important part of a healthy diet. Our body needs fat for optimal functioning.
In this article, you will find the 6 most important things about the “Good” Fats and the “Bad” Fats, what foods contain “good” and “bad” fats, and also 5 tips about how you can adopt a healthy diet.
1. Why we need Fat?!
Fats play several important roles in the body. Without fat, the body could not function.
Fats are a very concentrated source of energy, protect vital organs, help maintain proper body temperature, provide the necessary intake of vitamins A, D, E and K, maintain strong immune system due to high content of essential fatty acids and participate in cognitive processes from the brain.
2. How fats are transformed into energy by the body
The body can extract energy from everything we eat. Fats are a concentrated source of energy, providing about half of the energy we use daily.
During digestion and metabolism, the fats consumed are converted into fatty acids and glycerol, which are then absorbed into the blood.
When the body is given more fat than it should be, excess fat is stored in the cells for later use.
3. How you can burn excess fat from your body
Fat deposits made up of excess fat can be burned by determining the body to need more energy.
This means either reducing The Amount of Food Consumed, to force the body to use stored fat to obtain energy, or to put in physical effort HERE, HERE, and HERE, which also requires energy.
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4. The daily amount of fat needed by the body
Now that you understand why fats are so important for the proper functioning of the body, it is good to know also how much fat is recommended to consume daily. Ideally, 20-30% of the total calories consumed daily will come from fat.
One gram of fat contains 9 calories. Depending on your daily caloric intake you can calculate the amount of fat allowed.
For example, a person who consumes 2500 calories a day can consume around 500-750 calories from fat, and that means about 55-83 grams of fat daily.
Of course, it would be preferable for the fats consumed to be healthy, not trans fats, which we are not advised to consume
5. Body mass index and optimal level of fat stored by the body
Body mass index is determined by height and weight and is the one after which physicians guide when determining whether a person is overweight or not
Ladies
Performance athletes: 14 – 20% fat
Who practice sports: 21 – 24%
Normal: 25 – 31%
Obesity: over 32%
Men
Performance athletes: 6 – 13% fat
Who practice sports: 14 – 17%
Normal: 18 – 25%
Obesity: over 26%
6. The 2 big categories: “Good” Fats and “Bad” Fats
The problem is what kind of fat you give to your body because, besides fattening, they deposit around the organs, affecting their functioning, on the blood vessels, leading to vascular accidents and deoxygenation of the brain and organs, as well as influencing brain activity.
Not all fats are bad. There are also good ones.
Some, are good for us, while others should be avoided at all costs. How do we know which are good and which are bad and why?
• “Good” fats are Unsaturated Fats and can maintain a healthy heart, they are divided into Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats.
• “Bad” fats are Saturated and Trans fats and can increase the level of cholesterol in the blood.
Let’s take one by one, the two big categories, and detail them a bit.
The “Good” Fats
The “good” fats are the ones that do real wonders for human health.
This is why, even if you have decided to take a Weight Loss Cure HERE and HERE or want to Maintain your Figure, you should not give up these fats, because they give you energy, prevent Obesity and take care of the good functioning of the heart.
Then, the “good”ones help assimilate fat-soluble vitamins, it’s about vitamins A, D, E, and K.
I think you have often read or heard that, especially, the tomatoes and carrots are consumed in the form of salads where oil is always put.
Last but not least, “good” fats improve blood cholesterol levels.
The “good” or unsaturated ones are found in products obtained from vegetable sources such as corn oils, soybeans, olives, sunflower, then, in nuts, peanuts, seeds, almonds.
Below is a list of foods that contain “good” fats and which we must introduce, with moderation, into our diet.
The monounsaturated ones can be found in:
• Olive oil
• Canola oil
• Rapeseed oil
• Sunflower oil
• Sesame oil
• Avocado
• Olives
• Nuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews
• Peanut butter
Polyunsaturated are found in:
• Soybean oil
• Corn oil
• Sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and flax seeds
• Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines)
• Soya milk
• Tofu
The “Bad” Fats
The “bad” ones or saturated are mostly of animal origin.
Although they are the most unhealthy, they are the most consumed by both children and adults.
The “bad” ones, which harm the body, increase the level of cholesterol, which is why it is recommended to reduce the consumption of saturated fats, but not the total ban.
Excessive consumption leads to all the effects mentioned above plus deficiencies of memory and learning, leading to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, but also promotes the emergence of type 2 diabetes through the development of insulin resistance.
Below is a list of foods that contain “bad” fats and which we should avoid as much as possible.
Saturated fats are in:
• Chicken skin
• Beef, lamb, pork meet
• Dairy products such as milk, cream, cheese, butter, ice cream
• Coconut oil
• Palm oil
• Lard
Trans fats are found in:
• Fried foods, especially fast foods (French fries, donuts)
• Semi-prepared products
• Pastry and cake shops products from the trade (cakes, candies, pies, biscuits, powders for the preparation of creams, puddings, pancakes, certain ice creams)
• Spreadable margarine
• Popcorn microwave-ready
• Chocolate bars
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Tips for a healthy diet:
1. Reduce or eliminate red meat: pork, beef; Replace it with Fish or chicken (without skin) or fatty fish, such as mackerel, herring, or fresh tuna.
2. Avoid high-fat dairy products. Choose low-fat (1.5%) or low-fat (1%) cheese and yogurts.
3. Learn to read the labels of the products you buy. Notice the fat content on the food packaging. Choose the ones with the lowest fat content or the lowest saturated fat level.
4. Change your diet and consume as much good fat as you can: nuts and seeds, avocado, fish. Eat fewer biscuits, pastries, and cakes.
5. Add as many vegetables and Fresh Fruits or dried fruits to your diet.
Last Thoughts:
In general, they are an essential part of our diet. The right amount and the right kind of fat are essential if you want to stay healthy.
To sum it up, certain types of fats are bad for your health (trans), others are good for you (saturated and monosaturated), and a handful could go either way depending on how much you consume (polyunsaturated).
In the end, we might need to think about revising the way that we talk about them in our diet. The language and the labeling of these fats may need to change for us to have a truly accurate grasp of what is truly healthy, and what isn’t so much.
That’s something worth exploring.
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