You obtain fats as a sort of nutrition from your food. While eating some fats is necessary, eating too much can be harmful. Your body gets the energy it needs to function correctly from the fats you consume. Your body burns calories from the carbs you’ve consumed while you workout.
1. Fats
May 2, 2023admin
You obtain fats as a sort of nutrition from your food. While eating
some fats is necessary, eating too much can be harmful. Your
body gets the energy it needs to function correctly from the fats
you consume. Your body burns calories from the carbs you’ve
consumed while you workout.
What are Fats?
You obtain blubber as a type of nutrition from your food. While eating some
blubber is necessary, eating too much can be harmful.
Your body gets the energy it needs to function correctly from the blubber you
consume. Your body burns calories from the carbohydrates you’ve consumed
while you workout. However, after 20 minutes, your ability to continue
exercising depends in part on the calories from blubber . Additionally, you
require blubber to maintain the health of your skin and hair as well as to aid in
the absorption of the so-called fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Additionally, fat keeps your body warm by insulating it and filling your fat cells.
Your body receives linoleic important fatty acids from the fats you consume.
Sources of Fats
Saturated fat – primary sources include:
2. Red meat (beef, lamb, pork)
Chicken skin.
Whole-fat dairy products (milk, cream, cheese)
Butter.
Ice cream.
Lard.
Tropical oils such as coconut and palm oil.
Types of Fat
Unsaturated fats
Unsaturated fats, which are liquid at room temperature, are regarded as
healthy fats because they have a range of positive effects on health, including
lower blood cholesterol levels, less inflammation, stable cardiac rhythms, and
more. Vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds are examples of foods that are high in
unsaturated fats.
There are two types of “good” unsaturated fats:
3. 1. Monounsaturated fats
Monounsaturated fats are found in high concentrations in:
Olive, peanut, and canola oils
Avocados
Nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans
Seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds
2. Polyunsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fat are found in high concentrations in:
Sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed oils
Walnuts
Flax seeds
Fish
Canola oil – though higher in monounsaturated fat, it’s also a good
source of polyunsaturated fat.
Omega-3 fats are an important type of polyunsaturated fat. The body can’t
make these, so they must come from food.
Eating fish two to three times per week is a great method to receive
omega-3 fats.
Omega-3 fatty acids from plants can be found in flax seeds, walnuts,
and canola or soybean oil.
A study conducted by faculty at the HSPH found that older persons who
had higher blood levels of omega-3 fats had a decreased chance of
dying prematurely.
Visit our Ask the Expert with Dr. Frank Sacks to learn more about
omega-3 fatty acids.
The majority of individuals don’t consume enough good unsaturated
fats. There is evidence that eating more polyunsaturated fat—up to 15%
of daily calories—instead of saturated fat can reduce the risk of heart
disease. The American Heart Association recommends that 8–10% of
daily calories come from polyunsaturated fats.
Researchers from the Netherlands evaluated 60 experiments that
looked at how different types of fats and carbs affected blood lipid
levels. In studies, eating polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats
instead of carbs resulted in lower levels of dangerous LDL and higher
levels of protective HDL.
4. More recently, the Optimal Macronutrient Intake Trial for Heart Health
(OmniHeart) demonstrated that switching from a diet high in
carbohydrates to one high in monounsaturated fats lowers blood
pressure, enhances lipid levels, and lowers the estimated
cardiovascular risk.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are found in many foods, both sweet and savoury.
Most of them come from animal sources, including meat and dairy products,
as well as some plant foods, such as palm oil and coconut oil.
Foods high in saturated fats
Fatty cuts of meat
Meat products, including sausages and pies
Butter, ghee, and lard
Cheese, especially hard cheese like cheddar
Cream, soured cream and ice cream
Some savoury snacks, like cheese crackers and some popcorns
Chocolate confectionery
Biscuits, cakes, and pastries
Palm oil
Coconut oil and coconut cream
Cholesterol and saturated fats
5. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that’s mostly made by the body in the liver
It’s carried in the blood as:
low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
Consuming excessive amounts of saturated fats can elevate ―bad‖ LDL
cholesterol levels, which raises your risk of heart disease and stroke.
By transporting excess cholesterol from areas of the body to the liver, where it
is excreted, ―good‖ HDL cholesterol has a beneficial effect.
Every food that contains fat is made up of a variety of distinct fats. Saturated
fat is present in even seemingly healthful foods like chicken and almonds,
albeit in considerably smaller proportions than those in beef, cheese, and ice
cream. Although plant foods like coconut, coconut oil, palm oil, and palm
kernel oil are high in saturated fats, saturated fat is primarily found in animal
foods.
According to the American Dietary Guidelines, less than 10% of daily
calories should come from saturated fat.
Further restricting saturated fat to no more than 7% of calories is
advised by the American Heart Association.
However, replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrates will
probably negate the benefits of cutting back on saturated fat. The ―bad‖
LDL cholesterol is reduced when refined carbs are consumed in place
of saturated fat, but the ―good‖ HDL cholesterol and triglycerides are
also decreased. Overall, the situation is just as hazardous for the heart
as consuming excessive saturated fat.
Pizza and cheese
Whole and reduced fat milk, butter and dairy desserts
Meat products (sausage, bacon, beef, hamburgers)
Cookies and other grain-based desserts
A variety of mixed fast food dishes
Although decades of dietary recommendations (13, 14) suggested saturated
fat was unhealthy, this notion has recently started to change. One study
analysed the results of 21 trials that followed 350,000 people for up to 23
6. years and found no evidence that eating diets high in saturated fat increased
the risk of heart disease.
The association between consumption of saturated fat and coronary
heart disease (CHD), stroke, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) was
studied. They came to the contentious conclusion that ―there is
insufficient evidence from prospective epidemiologic studies to conclude
that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD,
stroke, or CVD.‖
A widely reported study from 2014 cast doubt on the association
between saturated fat and heart disease, but HSPH nutritionists found
the study to be highly deceptive. The Harvard School of Public Health
organised a teach-in titled ―Saturated or Not: Does Type of Fat Matter?‖
in order to clear up any confusion.
The main takeaway is that reducing saturated fat can be beneficial for health if
substituted with healthy fats, particularly polyunsaturated fats. (1, 15, 22)
Eating healthy fats instead of saturated fat reduces ―bad‖ LDL cholesterol and
raises the proportion of ―good‖ HDL cholesterol in the blood, reducing the risk
of heart disease.
Consuming healthy fats instead of saturated fat can also aid in preventing
insulin resistance, a condition that precedes diabetes. Since unsaturated fat
continues to be the healthiest type of fat, saturated fat may not be as bad as
previously believed.
Trans Fats
Trans fatty acids, more commonly called trans fats, are made by heating liquid
vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst, a process
called hydrogenation.
Vegetable oils become more stable and are less prone to become
rancid when partially hydrogenated. Additionally, during this process,
the oil is transformed into a solid that can be used to make margarine or
shortening.
Oils that have undergone partial hydrogenation are perfect for frying fast
food because they can endure repeated heating without degrading.
These factors led to the widespread use of partially hydrogenated oils in
the food industry and in restaurants for frying, baking, processed snack
items, and margarine.
7. Trans fats do not only come from partially hydrogenated oil in our
meals. Small amounts of trans fats are also present naturally in dairy fat
and beef fat.
For the heart, blood vessels, and the rest of the body, trans fats are the worst kind of fat because
they:
Inflammation, a response associated to immunology that has been
linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses, is
created when bad LDL is raised and good HDL is decreased.
The development of insulin resistance (16)
Can have negative health effects even in small doses; the risk of
coronary heart disease rises by 23% for every 2% more trans fat
calories consumed daily.
Importance of Fats and Oils
Oils and fats assist your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K
while also providing calories and vital lipids. Both the total amount of fat
consumed and the kind of fat are crucial for health. The importance of
selecting healthier unsaturated fats is due to this.
Fats Important for the Body
A healthy, balanced diet must have a small quantity of fat. Essential fatty
acids, which the body cannot produce on its own, are found in fat. Fat aids in
the body’s absorption of vitamins A, D, and E. These vitamins are only
absorbed with the aid of lipids because they are fat-soluble.
Benefits of Fats
―Your body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients is aided by fat, which also
helps provide your body energy, protect your organs, support cell growth, and
maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels..
Main functions of Fats
Appearance
Emulsions
Flavor
Heat Transfer
Melting Point
Nutrition
8. Satiety
Shortening.
Uses of Fats
The majority of lipids found in nature are found in fats
and oils. They give life energy, shield internal organs
from heat, and carry fatty-soluble vitamins through the
blood.
9. Effects of Fats
Consuming excessive amounts of saturated fats can elevate ―bad‖ LDL
cholesterol levels, which raises your risk of heart disease and stroke. By
transporting excess cholesterol from areas of the body to the liver, where it is
excreted, ―good‖ HDL cholesterol has a beneficial effect.
10. Low-fat diets are ideal since high consumption of fat leads to obesity,
diabetes, heart disease, and perhaps cancer.
Carrying additional weight has detrimental effects on one’s health, including
endometrial, breast, and colon cancers, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal
conditions including osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular disease (primarily heart
disease and stroke). These ailments lead to early death and severe disability.
Reference
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000104.htm#:~:text=Fats%20are%20a%
20type%20of,from%20carbohydrates%20you%20have%20eaten.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-
cholesterol/types-of-fat/