Everyone is afraid of fat, but all fats are not equal. Here is what you need know about about fat and how you can make aware and healthy choices.
Why is fat bad?
Let’s be honest, we all think that fats are bad for us, because this is what we have been told. It’s easy to associate fats with cholesterol and all the diseases that come with it. Heart diseases, obesity, cancer, this is what we’ve been led to believe for the past decades.
In a way, it’s right because then we are aware of the dangers of some foods. However, the problem is that we don’t know fat very well, and I’ve heard people fear the healthy fats, over the bad ones. And for me, this is where the problem is.
Because we need fat to satisfy our hormones, to lose weight (more on that below), to fight inflammation.
So let’s dive into the different fats that are out there.
The Different Types of Fats
There are two categories of fats:
- Saturated fats: they’re solid at room temperature, think margarine, whole fat dairy products, butter, animal fat etc.
- Unsaturated fats: they’re liquid at room temperature, so it’s olive oil, peanut oil, they’re high in antioxidants omega 3 and 6.
Within the unsaturated fats, depending on the hydrogen bonds they contain (one or more), there are:
- Monounsaturated fatty acid: it contains one bond, and it’s olives, nuts and seeds, avocados,
- Polyunsaturated fats: vegetable oil,
- Transfats: to avoid as much as you can. They are artificially transformed into saturated fats and are linked to heart disease, stroke risks, type 2 diabetes, etc. They’re everywhere in packaged and baked goods like frozen pizzas and ice creams, pastries and breads.
Know your fat, know what to eat
As you can guess, the ones you want to consume are the mono-unsaturated fats. They are the ones we call healthy fats.
So why do we want to eat fat, and why are they good for us?
Healthy fats are known to satisfy our hormones, more specifically the grehlin. Grehlin is the satiety hormone, which tells your body whether you’re full or not. When your body knows that you’re full, you stop eating. It is therefore a good way to control your body weight, or lose weight, when you only eat what you need.
Healthy fats help you fight inflammation, such as muscle pain, digestive issues, joint pain. Foods high in omega 3 help neutralise inflammation due to their anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation can also be the oxidation of your cells, or aging. Eating healthy fats will help you stay, feel and look younger for longer.
Healthy fats include: olive and olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocado, fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, herring, eggs, Greek yoghurt, grass-fed milk and meat.
I want to touch on one exception: coconut oil.
Coconut oil is a saturated fat, solid at room temperature. But it has a different composition: it is a medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which is recognised to help the good cholesterol (HDL).
Additionally, the MCT have been found to reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL).
Despite its category, coconut oil is partially good for you, and is a great to cook because it has a higher burning point than other oils. This means that the coconut oil will not be damaged unless you cook it at above 200*C. For regular oils, the burning point is lower and it is therefore not recommended to use for frying or baking.
Know your Fat Yet?
Do you feel comfortable yet?
It is a complex topic but in order to make daily choices for your health, you need to know your fat. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of how they all work, and you won’t be afraid to eat salmon or olive oil.
For healthy fat recipes, check out my Cacao Smoothie for Healthy Hormones, Olive Oil & Polenta Cake.
