Best healthy fats for your body

Are you someone who is afraid of consuming fats? If yes, you are definitely not alone. Fats have been vilified in different countries for couple of decades. Therefore you have seen and still see in grocery stores products like for example dairy with low fat or fat-free. What's important to know that not all fats are created equally. Our bodies need healthy fat in order to survive, it's one of the macronutrient our body needs on a daily basis.

In the below article I cover what are healthy fats and unhealthy fats, why does our body need fat and what oils and fats to use with what cooking methods.

Why is fat needed for the body?

Fat is one of the primary energy sources for the body. Fat has an important role on weight management, absorbing nutrients from the food, regulating body temperature, insulating your internal organs, supporting immune function, for hormonal balance and for maintaining healthy skin and hair. We also need fats in order to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins from the plant foods we eat- like vitamin A, D, E and K. Since fat is the most calorie rich macronutrient (9kcal per gram), it provides us energy as well as turns off our hunger hormones. Many healthy sources of fat are also fat-burning foods.

Low-fat diet can lead to hormonal imbalances, weight gain and overeating, higher risk for insulin resistance, gut issues, poor brain function, heart health issues, higher risk for depression and anxiety.

Which fats do we need to consume on a daily basis?

The below fats have all different effects on the body. It's generally recommended that unsaturated fats should make the majority of your fat intake, specifically dietary guidelines recommend us to have 10-20% of our daily fat intake from monounsaturated fats, 5-10% from polyunsaturated fats, of which omega-3 fats minimum 1%, maximum 10% of saturated fats and transfats as little as possible.

Polyunsaturated fats

Health benefits

• Support brain health and cognitive function

• Play a structural role in your body's brain and cells

• Lower LDL cholesterol

• Help prevent anxiety and depression

• Reduce inflammation

• Improve vision

• Keep heart healthy

• Aid in cellular function, regulate gene expression and form cell membranes

• Support healthy bones

• Reduces menstrual pains

• Promote better sleep

Which foods contain polyunsaturated fats?

• Walnuts

• Sunflower seeds

• Chia seeds

• Pine nuts

• Flaxseeds + oil

• Pecans

• Almonds

• Salmon

• Mackerel

• Trout

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Rapeseed oil (canola)- (cold-pressed is better choice)

• Sunflower oil (cold-pressed is better choice)

• Avocado oil

• Sesame oil

• Grapeseed oil (but is the highest with Omega-6 oils from seed oils)

Though vegetable oils like corn oil, soybean and safflower oil also contain polyunsaturated fats, they are often highly refined, heavily processed and rich in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (we do need some of these fatty acids in our diet, but people tend to consume too much). The ratio between omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats in diet is recommended to be 4:1 or 2:1. Vegetable oils are also easily oxidised- they break down and deteriorate when exposed to high heat. This can increase the formation of free radicals, that cause inflammation and oxidative damage to our cells.

Omega-3 foods

Mackerel, salmon, cod liver oil, walnuts, chia seeds, herring, flaxseeds, sardines, hemp seeds, anchovies, natto, organic egg yolks, walnut oil, hemp oil, brazil nuts, hemp seeds, hazelnuts, cashews. Organic grass-fed meat has also some Omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-6 foods

Grapeseed oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, walnuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds and nut butters, mayonnaise, meat, poultry, eggs

Monounsaturated fats

Health benefits

• Lower blood pressure

• Reduce LDL cholesterol and triglycerides

• Increase HDL

• Protect against heart disease

• Lower inflammation and reduce general oxidation

• Improve insulin sensitivity

• Decrease the formation of blood clots at higher heats

• Help you lose weight

• Strengthen bones

• Improve mood

• May reduce cancer risk

Which foods contain monounsaturated fats?

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Olives

• Avocados

• Avocado oil

• Raw almonds

• Raw peanuts (make sure to read the label when purchasing peanut butter, that it contains only peanuts and sea salt)

• Cashews

• Eggs

• Red meat

• Rapeseed (canola) oil

• Sesame oil

Omega-9 foods

Rapeseed (canola) oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, cashew oil, avocado oil, peanut oil, olives, olive oil, almonds, cashews, walnuts, avocado

Several of the foods contain a mix of omega 3 6 and 9 fatty acids. If you consume 2-3 times a week fatty fish like salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel, anchovies, herring along with nuts, seeds, eggs, extra-virgin olive oil, some grass-fed meat, you will meet your dietary needs for these fatty acids. Best place to start is to switch your refined vegetable oils for example to extra-virgin olive oil, ghee and coconut oil.

Saturated fats

Our body produces around 80% of the saturated fats, which means we should only consume small amounts of saturated fats in our diet.

Health benefits

• Form the foundation of cell membranes

• Lower triglycerides and make LDL cholesterol particles larger

• Important for bone health as they helps absorb calcium into bones

• Protect liver from damage, including from toxins and chemicals

• Help to burn fat (CLA- Conjugated linoleic acid) found in grass-fed beef, raw dairy and other animal products

• Reduce leaky gut and repair the gut

• Lauric acid (in coconut oil) has antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral properties

Which foods contain saturated fats?

• Coconut oil

• Palm oil

• Tallow

• MCT oil

• Ghee

• Butter

• Grass-fed beef

• Cheese

• Cocoa

• Full-fat dairy

• Eggs

Trans fats

These are fats that you want to cut out from your diet completely. Though some foods contain naturally trans fats (meat and dairy products of ruminant animals), you want to avoid the artificial ones produced through a process called hydrogenation. Food manufacturers add hydrogen molecules to liquid vegetable oils to extend shelf life, enhance flavour and create a more solid texture in foods. You can find trans fats mainly in processed products.

Impact on health

• Increase your risk of heart disease

• Raise bad LDL cholesterol

• Lower good HDL cholesterol

• Increase risk of diabetes

Which foods contain trans fats?

• Packaged chips and snacks

• Crackers

• Donuts

• Packaged baked goods

• Frozen pizza

• Packaged and refrigerated dough

• Fried meats and fast foods

• Vegetable shortening

• Margarine

• Nondairy coffee creamers
  

The best way to avoid trans fats is to eat a diet full of fresh vegetables, berries, fruits, organic meats, legumes, nuts and seeds.

How much fat should you consume?

It depends on your age, activity level and health concerns and goals, but dietary guidelines recommend that you get 45-60 percent of your calories from healthy carbohydrates, 10-20 percent of calories from protein and the 25-40 percent from healthy fats. Consuming adequate amount of fats make you feel fuller between meals and therefore you have less cravings for sugar and unhealthy carbohydrate rich foods. Your energy levels are also more constant throughout the day. I often follow my hand when plating my meals- whole hand size vegetables, greens; palm size protein and thumb size fat.

If you have high LDL cholesterol levels, keep the intake of saturated fats in your diet low.

What fats to use with what cooking methods?

It's important to keep cooking oil smoke point in mind depending what cooking method you plan to use. However it is recommended to keep the temperatures for cooking low- preferably below 170C (338F). Cooking oils that have a low smoke point, can break down under high heat, leading to creating free-radicals that can be harmful for our health. Do not re-heat the same oil twice to cook with it.

Saturated fats are better to use for high heat cooking than polyunsaturated fats, as they are more resistant to oxidation and damage caused by high-heat cooking methods. Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats are better to top of cooked meals, salads, add to dips, salad dressings.

For high heat frying, prefer:

• Ghee

• Coconut oil

• Avocado oil

• Tallow

For medium heat frying, baking, roasting use olive oil or rapeseed oil.

For topping salads, ready made meals, in dips, salad dressings, spreads- use:

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Hemp seed oil

• Camelina oil

• Sunflower oil

Walnut oil is great to drizzle over grilled fruits, potatoes and other veggies, poultry dishes, pasta, cooked meat, seafood

Sesame oil- use it as a finishing oil to burst flavour of food. Works wells with noodle, rice, poultry and meat dishes

I hope the above gives a good overview of fats, why we need fat in our diet, what type of fats we should consume and which ones we should limit or avoid.

If you are looking for nutrition advice, how to make healthier choices around food to support healthy body and healthy weight, don't hesitate to reach out to me at info@katrinpeo.com.