TYPES OF FAT: Healthy vs Unhealthy Fats
For many decades, fat was believed to be the bad guy. In and around the 1960’s, the low-fat diet began to take over. Although there was little to no evidence that fat was actually causing any major problems, such as heart disease or weight gain, many people succumbed to this ideology and lived the low-fat life! It wasn’t until more recent years that the low-fat diet began to be put into question, and thank the LEANNESS it did, because fats (the right ones of course) are actually good for you and your health!
Although fats are good for you, it is super important to distinguish between the healthy fats and the not so healthy fats.
1. BAD FATS
The bad fats that we want to stay away from are saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are the fats that we find in foods such as meats, cheeses, butter, oil, and some fried foods. Although we can have SOME saturated fats in our diets, it is important to keep this number fairly low. Trans fats are processed saturated fats and are definitely the most unhealthy kind of fat. You can find trans fats in mainly packaged and fried foods. Trans fats are made from a process called hydrogenation, which is the process of putting hydrogen into fats in order to extend the shelf life of that product, or to add a specific consistency to the food.
Having too much saturated or trans fat in your diet can lower the amount of good cholesterol in your body, and give you higher levels of bad cholesterol which can lead to heart disease. Eating too much bad fat can also cause weight gain.
What are good fats?! Good fats are omega -3 which can mainly be found in fish, omega-6 which can be found in some nuts and some oils such as coconut oil. Another form of healthy fats are monounsaturated fats, which can be found in avocados and some nuts. Adding more of these healthy fats into your diet can actually help you LOSE weight! Healthy fats are also a great source of energy as they get converted into ketones in the body which is one of your body’s preferred energy sources! Fats also take a bit longer to digest, meaning the energy you get from fats is more long lasting! Not only does the longer digestion process create longer lasting energy, but it also helps to keep you feeling FULL and SATIATED for a longer period of time! In turn, you wont feel as hungry and are less likely to over eat! Healthy fats are very calorically dense. This means that you need LESS to feel more FULL! This can also help aid in over eating!
One of the most essential reasons we need fats in our diet is because of the role they play in the absorption of vitamins in the body. Fats are essential in being able to absorb vitamin a, d, e and k, without it, you would not be able to absorb these nutrients!
According to the Cleveland Clinic, about 20% – 35% of your daily caloric intake should come from fat. The exact number of course, is dependent on what kind of diet you follow on a daily basis. If you are following a diet dominant in carbs, then you should be having less fat, if you are living the LEAN LIFE and are consuming a low amount of carbs on a daily basis, then your daily fat intake should be in the higher end of that percentage.
It is super important to make sure you are consuming the proper amount of fats daily! Fats are ESSENTIAL! That’s what the LEANSQUAD is here for! We calculate the proper amounts of macronutrients (carbs, protein AND fats) on the back end so you don’t have to! Everyone is different, that is why we make a CUSTOM plan for each and every one of our Squadies!
There you have it Squadies! All you need to know about good and bad fats, Which ones to eat and which ones to stay away from!