Health benefits of fat in our diet

Healthy fat sources

Health benefits of fats 

• Fat is essential for health. It is required for cell formation and integrity. 

• It is responsible for transporting the  four fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K. 

• Fat provides a feeling of fullness.

•  It's crucial for hormone function,nerve transmission,  and protects vital organs. 

• The essential fatty acids:  linoleic acid and linolenic acid, must be consumed in the diet.

• Fat is a concentrated source of calories and an energetically efficient fuel source. One gram of fat contains 9 calories. 

Types of fat include:

• Saturated fat 

• Monounsaturated fat

• Polyunsaturated fat

• Cholesterol

• Trans fat

Saturated fat

 - generally considered the “bad fat”, but not all saturated fats are harmful for our body. 

- There’s one type of saturated fat: the CLA - conjugated Linoleic Acid”that reduces inflammation, has cancer-fighting properties, helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and aids in weight loss, increasing lean body mass

- Sources of CLA are: grass-fed, organically raised animals, butter from grass-fed beef, coconut oil

Monounsaturated fat

• Helps reduce triglyceride levels, improve cholesterol profile

• Sources include: olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds

• Contains high levels of antioxidants, vitamins A, D, E, K, and coenzyme Q-10

Polyunsaturated fat

• There are 3 major types of polyunsaturated fatty acids: omega 3 - linolenic acid, omega 6 - linoleic acid and omega 9 - oleic acid

• Omega 3 is key to health due its anti-inflammatory properties. Main sources: wild cold-water fish, flax seed, walnuts and some other nuts and seeds

• Omega 6 is an essential oil for hormone construction. The problem is that omega 6 is highly available in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds and all processed, unhealthy foods of the modern diet have high amounts of this fat, making the ratio of omega 3:6 out of range.

• The healthy ratio of omega 3:6 is 1:3, but in our society it drastically shifted to a 1:20 ratio, causing chronic inflammation, leading to serious health consequences

Cholesterol 

• Functions of cholesterol icludel: integrity of cell membranes, building block for vitamin D (made when sunlight hits the skin), helps synthesize bile to allow the digestion of fats and fat-soluble nutrients, helps synthesize steroid hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone

• Our bodies produce 75% of cholesterol, diet has less control over cholesterol production

•  Genetics, physical activity level, and the amount of trans fats in your diet have a greater impact.on cholesterol levels

• The 2 types are: LDL and HDL

• LDL - the bad guy carries cholesterol to your organs and cells, and along the way may deposit it in your arteries. Over time, this may contribute to heart disease.

• HDL  transports cholesterol from the blood and tissues, ridding the body of artery-clogging deposits. 

• Fibre and exercise increase HDL levels

Trans fat

• Trans fatty acids (TFAs) raise blood cholesterol levels.disrupt the processing of healthy fats. Your body has only one enzyme, lipase, to break down fatty acids. If you consume trans fatty acids, healthy essential fatty acids may remain unprocessed.

• Trans fatty acids are largely created by the processing of polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. This processing may be from hydrogenation or from very high heat.Many low fat prepared foods, cookies, crackers can be very high in trans fats. 

• Always read the labels to ensure your food choices do not contain them.