Today I will talk about something that surprisingly scares many people. When people hear this word, they get afraid and start avoiding food.
I am talking about Fats.
These Fats are important macronutrients and are needed for various functions. But most importantly they provide tons of energy (More than half of the body’s energy requirements come from fats).
Our body cannot make fats, hence we need them from our diet. Fats get broken down into Essential fatty acids and that process provides us the required energy.
A gram of fats (from the food) gives up to 40 KJ of energy, however, carbs and protein don’t give that much energy. Fat that is not used by the body’s cells or not converted into energy turns into body fat. Similarly, unused carbs and proteins also get converted into body fats.
Fats also help in absorbing vitamins A, D & E, which are only Fat-soluble vitamins. FGW will discuss more about vitamins in the next blog. Till then, you read this one.
Essential fatty acids are also needed for:
- Formation of healthy cell membrane
- Proper functioning of the brain & nervous system
- Hormone production
- Regulation of blood pressure and more
Types of fats
Like every other nutrient Fats has some classification as well.
I call them, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
1: Unsaturated fats
These are actually good fats. These are good for health and should be consumed more than the others. Unsaturated fats help in improving blood cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, and stabilize heart rhythms.
These are found in Certain oils, nuts, and seeds.
Further Unsaturated fats are divided into 2 categories
⇾ Mono Unsaturated fats
⇾ Poly Unsaturated fats- Omega-3 & 6 fatty acids (which will be discussed in a separate blog).
If your trainer tells you to leave fats and carbs in order to lose weight. You need to leave that trainer first before anything.
FGW
A randomized trial known as Omni heart showed that replacing a carb-rich diet with Mono-unsaturated fats reduces blood pressure & reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Some research suggests that eating up to 15% of daily calories of polyunsaturated fats can lower the risk of heart disease.
The difference between the 2 is their molecular structure.
These fats promote HDL. Know everything about Mr. C, through this blog⇉ A quick guide to Cholesterol
2: Saturated fats
These are bad fats. These are not healthy as unsaturated fats. Eating them can raise LDL (the bad cholesterol), further, they can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
It is recommended that men should not take more than 30 Grams of saturated fats a day and for women, it’s 20 Grams. For children, it’s even less.
There are many debates about whether saturated fats are good or bad. Several studies even suggested that saturated fats don’t raise the risk of heart disease. However, these claims need solid evidence.
3: Trans fat
Oh, these are the ugliest fats. Whatever unsaturated fats do, trans fats do the opposite.
They are made by heating vegetable oil in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst, called Hydrogenation.
Interestingly, many humans love these fats and they consume them daily. You can find them in your pizzas, french fries, chips, cookies, vegetable oil, etc.
You are not getting any energy from them and the only thing it gives you is a huge hospital bill.
FGW is kind enough to make something that will help you differentiate among the above-mentioned fats in a fun manner.
Check this out:
Feel free to save it, share it, or do whatever you like.
In a previous blog, someone said that they would like to see the source material. I read multiple articles and make 1 blog out of them. Still, here are some useful articles :
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00051350
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000104.htm
That’s it for this blog. In the next blog, we will discuss different Vitamins and their functions individually.
Till then, you drop comments in this blog and smile after that.
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