If you are one of those who still think that eating fat is harmful to your health, or you feel confused about the type of fat you should consume, stay and read this article and you will see how your ideas will become clearer.
Before starting, let's remember the functions that fats have in the body:
- The structural function allows good maintenance of cell membranes, also necessary to maintain good levels of vitamin D.
- The transport function of fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K).
- The recognized function of palatability , in this way the food is more pleasant on the palate.
- The energy function allows you to incorporate 9 kcal for each gram, which adapted to your requirements is important to meet all macronutrients.
Every day we hear terms such as trans fats, saturated fats, toxic fats, monounsaturated fats and they surely tend to generate a lot of controversy. The reality is that fats are necessary to live, and to enjoy good health . Each type of fat is accompanied by a “last name”, such as saturated fat, monounsaturated fat.
They are terms that refer to the biochemical structure of these compounds, and depending on the size of each structure, they can take different nomenclatures such as short chain, long chain...
That said, let's classify them in a general way:
Saturated fats
They have been highly highlighted throughout history, by several scientific studies where they were directly associated with cardiovascular diseases. Foods where we can find this type of fat: coconut oil, beef and pork, chicken meat, fish, egg yolk.
The problem comes when we ingest this type of saturated fat in ultra-processed foods such as industrial pastries, composed of palm oil, refined butters... Therefore, we must assess the origin of our intake of saturated fats, and know that they are necessary for a healthy diet. good brain function, a strengthened immune system or to facilitate the fixation of calcium in the bones...
unsaturated fats
Classified in:
- Monounsaturated , they are found in olive oil, avocado, almonds, walnuts, sesame oil, sunflower oil...
- Polyunsaturated s, they are found in foods such as sesame oil, sunflower oil, soybeans. It is recommended not to use it in frying, since this type of fat oxidizes when it reaches high temperatures and is not beneficial for our health.
Trans fat
They have basically been created by the food industry . This type of fat has been the result of the hydrogenation of vegetable fats, which allows the production of food products that last longer over time.
It is easy to recognize products in the supermarket that contain it: cakes, pre-made doughs with unsuitable ingredients, microwave popcorn (packages ready to heat), pizza doughs with added trans fats.
Obviously, you have to know how to read and interpret nutritional labels, since we cannot say that all brands use this type of fat, so we recommend reading the labels and choosing the most appropriate option within the offer.
As a fact, in Spain it is not mandatory to include the grams of trans fats of each product on the labels. Therefore, by reading the list of ingredients we can get a rough idea of whether the product has a lot of this type of fat or not.
The best way to know that we are not consuming a lot of trans fats is to buy foods and not products. When your shopping basket is mostly made up of good quality fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, legumes, dairy products, you should not worry about occasionally taking a product of this caliber.
How much fat should you consume?
Once this information is collected, you must adapt your fat intake to your personal situation. In general, it is recommended that fats occupy 20-30% of your diet , taking care that this percentage comes from natural fats .
In general, an adult can easily achieve this percentage, which amounts to 60-80 grams per day. To give you an idea, a 15-gram tablespoon of olive oil contains 15 grams of fat, or two ounces of high-cocoa chocolate of about 16 grams would provide us with 8 grams of fat.
Tips for a healthy life
And finally, the best tips you can follow for your daily life are:
- Eat varied , prioritizing foods and not products.
- Avoid frying , very frequent roasting and any cooking method where fats reach high temperatures.
- Prioritize extra virgin olive oil, although you alternate with other types of vegetable oils.
- We recommend buying coconut oil cold pressed to better obtain its benefits.
- Combining fat sources with the rest of the macronutrients will keep us satiated. Fat slows down absorption, so we will suffer fewer anxiety peaks and maintain more stable glucose levels.
- Move daily , do physical activity. It is a fundamental point, since the human body is designed to be in movement. Even if your daily life forces you to sit for hours, try to walk as much as possible, do combined physical activity (strength, hiit, cardio...).
