Whether you are looking to bulk up, tone up or lose fat! Fats form an important part of all of our diets.
Fats, or lipids, are molecules that the body uses in many different ways. Fats supply immediate energy, transport nutrients including vitamins, and play a key role in normal growth and development. The body cannot do without fat.
It is important however, not to eat too much fat. High intakes of fat are linked with many health problems and can lead to overweight.
Current guidelines suggest that women should eat no more than 70g of fat per day, and men no more than 95g. This equates to about 30% of calories coming from fats.
Types of fat
Some fats are far better for our health than others. Food labels often break down the fat present in food into the different types for example:
Per 100g Per serving
Fat 22.6g 3.6g
Of which
Saturates 9.8g 1.6g
Monounsaturates 8.2g 1.3g
Polyunsaturates 4.6g 0.7g
As shown above, there are 3 main types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Most foods contain a mixture of all 3.
THE BADS
Saturated – includes hard fats like lard, butter, fat on meat, pasties and take always, Trans Fats (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils) – includes vegetable oils that have been treated to make them hard and are found in pastry, cakes and biscuits.
These should be fats you avoid and no more than 1/3 of your fat intake should come from these fats.
THE GOODS
Unsaturated fats / oils - the healthier fats found generally in plant foods such as fruit, seeds, nuts and vegetables. These are split into polyunsaturated fats that include sunflower, sesame and soya oils and monounsaturated fats that include olive oil.
Omega 3 fats – these are a group of unsaturated fats called ‘essential fatty acids’ that cannot be made in the body in sufficient quantities. Oily fish such as sardines, salmon, pilchards and mackerel are excellent sources. These fats keep our hearts healthy and offer many other health benefits as well.
Getting the Balance Right
Extremely low fat diets are not healthy because they limit the amount of fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids in our diet which are necessary for all round health.
High fat diets are also unhealthy as they tend to lead to high calorie consumption (each gram of fat contains 9 calories) which leads to being overweight and may increase the risk of high cholesterol and heart disease.
By reducing the unhealthy saturated fats in the diet and replacing them with healthier unsaturated fats, we will be getting a much better balance for our health.
