Fat Types & Which Fat You Can Eat?

Dietary fat is one of the most common topics in any conversation between health conscious people. Actually, the majority of people keep figuring out how to lose fat & whether eating a low-fat diet would help them to lose weight. The very first thing come to their mind is to have less fat in their lives without even giving a thought what are fats’ functions in a diet and why everyone needs them?

In fact, all fats are not bad. Rather, fat plays very important role in some of the crucial functions within your body. However, both whether too little or too much fat can impact our health & fitness significantly. So, it’s imperative to know which types of dietary fat you should include in your diet and which you should avoid. Read on for the fat types & our suggestions:

Types Of Fat You Should Eat And The Types Of Fat That You Should Avoid

Trans fat

Though, trans fat is present naturally in small amounts in a few meat & dairy products, but, generally, it’s manufactured by food industry. This manufactured type is used for better taste, appealing texture & to lengthen shelf life of the food products by the food companies.

While the naturally occurring trans fat doesn’t cause us much harm if we keep its intake limited to smaller amounts, but the manufactured type of trans fat is the most harmful. Whereas this type of fat can improve taste of a food but it will not do any good to your body. On the contrary, trans fat has several serious health risks, including:

(i) Elevated bad cholesterol (ii) Reduced good cholesterol (iii) CHD – Coronary heart disease (iv) Cancer (v) Suppressed bile acids (vi) Alzheimer’s disease

Should you include Trans Fat in your Diet?

Try to keep trans fat out of your diet, particularly the type contained in processed foods – such as packaged baked goods because they are generally made with partially hydrogenated oil, a typical source of trans fat. In general, you should try to avoid completely anything made with using partially hydrogenated oil. Keep in mind to always choose unprocessed, natural foods.

Saturated fat

I will now tell you the impact of saturated fat on your body. In limited amounts, certain types of saturated fat, for example stearic acid, can help bring down bad cholesterol  (LDL) level. It’s slightly better than trans fat. But many people nevertheless don’t want to include too much of saturated fat in their diet. A diet high in saturated fat, which also includes high levels of sugar and processed carbs can bring on many health risks, such as:

(i) Elevated cholesterol (ii) Poor blood viscosity (iii) Cardiovascular disease (iv) Diabetes (v) Breast cancer

Should you include Saturated Fat in your Diet?

Consider alternatives to the common saturated fats, for example swapping regular beef for lean beef, or even opting for fish than the beef. Also, keep in mind to balance fat intake with lots of vegetables, healthy fruits and whole grains. These foods are naturally low in bad fats and high in various other nutrients important for health.

Unsaturated fat

And, finally, unsaturated fat, known as the “healthy fat.” This fat type supports a number of essential healthy functions in your body. This doesn’t mean that you can eat as much as you want. In spite of all its goodness this fat is nevertheless high in calories. However, it’s the best fat type of all the fats.  

Should you include Unsaturated Fat in your Diet?

Try to focus on omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are present in foods like fish, avocados, and leafy vegetables (such as spinach). Omega-6 is contained in foods such as flax oil, nuts, & seeds (like pumpkin seeds). The ideal ratio of these two fatty acids is 1:1. But, the most current diets contain much higher amount of omega-6 as compared to omega-3, which can cause health risks like inflammation or blood clotting. So, make sure you actively rebalance the ratio in order to optimize the health benefits that these fatty acids provide such as:

(i) Improve blood vessel health (ii) Prevent inflammation (iii) Control triglycerides & cholesterols (iv) Boost metabolism (v) Improve cardiovascular function (vi) Effective nervous system function

Conclusion

(i) Cut out trans fat completely (especially the manufactured types) & reduce saturated fat. Keep unsaturated fat at a healthy level.

(ii) Eat a balanced diet, focusing on natural, whole, unprocessed foods for optimal health.

Useful Related Post: Which Fat You Should Be Eating And How Much?

Which fat you should include in your Diet?