What You Need to Know About Fats
The internet is filled with a lot of articles about fat, and most of these articles emphasize how bad fat is for you, especially for those who are trying to lose weight. But the truth is, there are healthy fats that you as a human being must take in order to live and function healthily.
Most diet books and blogs scattered all over the internet talk about fats like they are all the same. The point is, there are a lot of fats in different diets, and each fat plays its own unique and important role in the body, more of which are beneficial roles to your health.
To better get a grasp of the different types of fats and their roles, understand which ones are bad for you, and which ones are good enough for your consumption, as well as their importance to your health, read this article to the end.
The more you understand the roles certain specific fats play in your body, the better you will be at picking healthy diets for yourself.
How Fat Became a No-No
Many decades ago, the goal of every parent was to feed their children with fatty foods because, to them, that was the only and most obvious way to get energy. According to recent research, by weight, fat contains more calories than other nutrients.
However, as time went by, scientists discovered that there are different types of fats, and not all fats should be consumed. On the other hand, this new discovery did not completely write off the eating of fat, as some fats were also discovered to be healthy enough for human consumption.
However, the bad fats were later discovered to not only increase the cholesterol levels of both humans and animals alike but also trigger a condition known as atherosclerosis. This condition is defined by the narrowing of the arteries by the excessive build-up of plaques in the arteries. Atherosclerosis has the tendency of increasing the risks of heart diseases and even trigger stroke.
After this discovery by scientists in the mid-’40s, heart-related illnesses reduced. Thus, in order to completely prevent heart-related conditions and also get rid of unnecessary weight gain, people decided to quit eating fatty foods, regardless of which ones are healthy and which ones are not. This explains why most people consider all kinds of fats as bad. In essence, the research was misquoted, and it still is up till today.
However, claims such as “saturated fats are unhealthy and bad,” as well as “adopt a low-fat diet, it is healthier,” are not correct. This article elaborates on the differences between good and bad fats; that is, what kind of fats you should eat and the kinds you should avoid.
Dietary Cholesterol Has Little Effect on the Body
Cholesterol is found in the liver of humans and animals; thus, it can only be gotten from animal products. The major sources of cholesterol include fish oil and fish, animal liver, egg yolks, and animal fats. Some oils like butter, cheese, shellfish, meat, and baked products from animal fats.
In addition, the liver regulates the amount of cholesterol in the body. That is, if you consume too much dietary cholesterol, the liver will adjust itself and produce lesser cholesterol to regulate the cholesterol levels in your body.
The cholesterol you consume from diets has tiny effects on the cholesterol level in your blood. In fact, recent studies found that over 350,000 adults who heavily consume cholesterol do not experience any form of heart-related illness or stroke. This is because dietary cholesterol has tiny effects on your cholesterol levels, and the liver regulates the cholesterol amounts in the body.
However, on the other hand, more studies found that some people are cholesterol sensitive, even to the tiniest amount of dietary cholesterol consumed by them. This kind of personal experience an increase in both the bad cholesterol (LDL) and good cholesterol (HDL) levels.
Not All Saturated Fats are Bad
Saturated fats are stable kinds of fats. They are solid at room temperature and do not require any chemical double to make them stable.
Although some saturated fats are unhealthy, while some others are healthy. But according to nutritional experts, calling “all” saturated fats healthy or unhealthy is an exaggeration.
People Eat Foods, Not Individual Nutrients
Most nutritional studies emphasize only the effect of individual nutrients in foods rather than looking at the whole nutrients that are contained in that food and how they complement one another.
Concluding that the fat in a diet is too much depends on you having a look at the amounts of other nutrients in that diet to determine whether or not they can beat down the fat in such diet. In other words, choosing the amounts or type of fat for your diet also involves choosing a variety of healthy foods that can complement and balance out the fats. Such healthy foods can include; nuts and seeds, vegetables, and fish. Focusing on the diet and how all the nutrients work interdependently is better than picking out one nutrient (fat) and focusing only on it.
Industrial Fat or Trans-fat is Extremely Unhealthy
Industrial fats are fats that are not natural, and consuming them can put you at a higher risk of developing any kind of heart disease.
According to studies, trans fat is made from the process of hydrogenation of vegetable oils using hydrogen gas. This process is done industrially and can be unhealthy when consumed. This hydrogenation process converts the liquid unsaturated fats into solid.
Products that contain trans fat include; cookies, fried foods, pies, frosting, creamy fillings, cakes, and biscuits, all made with margarine.
The hydrogenation process makes unsaturated fats undifferentiable from saturated fats. However, trans fat is unhealthy for the body and can put you at the risk of developing conditions like atherosclerosis and several heart diseases.
Unsaturated Fats are Healthy for Your Heart
Unsaturated fats, according to research, are heart-healthy. There are assorted types of unsaturated fats, some of which include; polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated Fats are Healthy
Monounsaturated fats can be found in olive, avocados, and canola oil. They are also packed in nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, and cashews.
According to research, adults who consumed foods that contain monounsaturated fats have experienced a 12% lower risk of heart disease and deaths associated with this illness compared to those who did not.
The best roots of monounsaturated fats are olive oil and oleic acid.
Polyunsaturated Fats are Healthier
According to research, polyunsaturated fats are even better off than monounsaturated fats. Studies found that substituting foods that contain saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats can help beat down heart disease risks by about 19%. This sort of fat can be found in castor oils and vegetables.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids; the Real Omega
This is the healthiest of all kinds of fats. Omega 3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fats. It is commonly found in almost all seafood like salmon, bluefin, herring, albacore tuna.
A diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids has the tendency of reducing your heart disease risks by about 10%. However, some studies have associated eating some kinds of fish with mercury poisoning, which can be harmful to the body when it is consumed in large quantities.
Most foods agencies across different countries have frowned against the regular consumption of fish that have the tendency of exposing you to mercury poisoning. Some of these fishes include mackerel, marlin, swordfish. However, fishes like yellowfin tuna and albacore contain smaller amounts of mercury and are recommended to be eaten up to once a week, while on the other hand, other fishes like salmon, white fish, and trout are safe to be eaten for up to twice or three times per week.
In conclusion, having rich knowledge about the different types of fat can help you make healthier food choices. Every fat has its own unique function to the body. However, industrial fats or trans fat are universally unhealthy. Most people characterize all saturated fats as one and call them “all bad,” without trying to understand that there are different types of saturated fats, and not all of them are unhealthy for you. Also, fats are not eaten in isolation. Thus, it is best to focus a healthy food than on the nutrients in isolation.
