First of all… We all know there three main, super important MACRO NUTRIENTS that we must consume in order to be in good health. These are:
- Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Fats
Today, I want to talk about FATS, about why we should not satanize them and why we need
them in our lives.
Scientifically speaking, there are three main types of dietary fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. I will not dig dip into chemistry here, so should you want to learn about the composition and the bounds of each type, you can google it and you will surely find some info. In this post, I just really want to break it down in two types: Healthy and Not-so-healthy / you-should-ditcth-em fats.
So, as for healthy fats, we will define them as “relatively unprocessed fats from whole foods”. Take monounsaturated fats, from instance, like avocado, nuts, and seeds, and polyunsaturated fats: from fatty fish, nuts, and seed. These are EXCELLENT and have many benefits, like boosting immunity, improving brain function, being good for our heart health, and helping us lose weight! Also, in the same healthy category we have some saturated fats from real foods like dairy, coconut, dark chocolate, and grass fed butter. Yes, even if the term “saturated fats” has such a bad reputation out there.
As for the Not-so-healthy / you-should-ditcth-em fats., these are those that are industrially produced and designed to be nonperishable, such as:
- trans- fatty acids that appear in processed foods
- hydrogenated fats such as margarine
- most shelf-stable cooking oils (e.g. safflower, soybean, corn oil, etc.)
Thing of these as things your body doesn’t know how to process (because of the so many processes they have been under already), which will be just stored as fat or extra pounds, and that are just bad for your overall health.
Nuts provide an excellent source of healthy fats
Why we should LOVE the HEALTHY ones?
Fat we consume is digested and either used for energy, stored in adipose (fat) tissue, or incorporated into other body tissues and organs.
Many of our body tissues are lipid (aka fat) based, including our brains and the fatty sheath that insulates our nervous systems. Our cell membranes are made of phospholipids, which means they’re fat-based too.
Thus, the fat we consume literally becomes part of our cells. It can powerfully influence how our cells communicate and interact.
Moreover:
Fat helps you absorb vitamins! Vitamins A, D, E and K get absorbed better when there is fat consumed with them.
Fat helps you burn fat! Fat helps take fat out of your cells so you can use it for energy. Instead of having a big apple for snack, have a small apple with 2 teaspoons of almond butter.
Fat provides satiety! That’s a fancy word meaning it helps keep you satisfied. It’s harder for your body to break it down so you digest it slower, and you end up staying more satisfied.
