Last time we started the topic what to eat (when not at a party) and today we will talk how fats are important part of it!
When Josephine walked into my clinic the other day, she said “look at me, from everywhere I am perfect. I just need to lose this”, she said picking up the flab from her low waist jeans. Does this sound familiar to you, too?
See how fats help us not turn food into fat…
We are all perfect just the way we are, but get carried away doing too many imperfect things. One of them is banning fats from our diet. Fat plays an important role in our body. It especially helps us survive prolonged mental and physical stress, sickness and prolonged starvation. In good times (i.e. plenty of food), our body does not ordinarily convert food into fat. In lean times it does. So if you eat less or are on a low fat diet, guess what happens? Your body assumes you are in a lean, no food period and works overtime at accumulating fat.
Fat is like a super compacted energy cell.
It provides us 9 calories per gram. Carbs and proteins in contrast provide us with only 4 calories per gram.
- Fat assimilates vitamins A,E,D and K (fat soluble vitamins)
- Fat protects our vital oranges including the heart, kidneys, liver and lungs.
- Fat is our insulator against severe cold weather.
- Fat assists in nerve transmission.
- Fat stimulates the flow of bile and emptying of the bladder.
- Fat is required for milk production and normal growth of foetus in pregnant women.
- 60% of your brain is fat.
- Fat lubricates your joints.
There are different types of fats though – and some are better than others…
Saturated fats: These are solid at room temperature (butter and animal fats, not clarified fat). Saturated fats sourced from animals are tough on the human body.
Unsaturated fats: These are the good fats and are liquid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are further divided into Mono and Poly unsaturated fatty acids.
Trans fats: This is a new deadly kind of fat especially created to preserve food, texture and give it great taste. It is made from fiddling with nature and converting unsaturated fats into saturated fats by a process called hydrogenation. Most prepackaged edible foods such as pizzas, burgers, fries, cakes, biscuits etc. are rich in trans fats. Also beware of ‘low fat’ products; these are invariable contain invisible fats i.e. trans fats.
Where to find good fats?
Good fats can be found in large quantities in peanuts, olives, avocados, almonds, rice bran oil, sunflower, flax seed, walnuts and fish.
Do not skip fat – make good fat an integral part of your cooking. Check out our e-cookbook section – there are plenty of recipes there to get you started 😉
In my next blog I shall write about Vitamins and minerals.