Nutrients - 'Fats'.
Dietary Fats
What is a Dietary Fat?
Dietary fat is considered a macronutrient and is a significant source of energy for the body. Fats are often grouped in to three categories: Saturated fats, Unsaturated fats and trans fats.
Saturated Fats.
*Typically solid at room temperature.
*Potentially associated with negative health effects, including heart disease.
Unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats.
*Liquid at room temperature.
*Associated with raising HDL ("Good") cholesterol levels while lowering LDL ("Bad") cholesterol, which can reduce the risk of heart disease.
Trans Fats.
*Raise LDL ("Bad") cholesterol and lowers HDL ("Good") cholesterol - a dangerous combination.
How does the body use fats.
Dietary fat is needed for the body to absorb fat-soluble Vitamins, such as Vitamin A, D, E and K. Fat also provides the body with nine calories of energy per gram of fat. Additionally, the body also uses fat to produce hormones, signal hunger, regulate body temperature, and construct cell membrane.
How much fat do I need in my diet?
Adults should receive 20-35% of their calories from fat. Saturated fats should be limited to 10% of calories, Monounsaturated fats should account for 10-15% of calories, the Polyunsaturated fats should account for roughly 10% of calories. Artificial Trans fats should be completely avoided.
For a typical adult who consumer 2000 calories per day, the recommendations equate to roughly 44-77 grams of total fats, no more than 22 grams of Saturated fats, 22-33 grams of Monounsaturated fats, and around 22 grams of Polyunsaturated fats.
Which foods are high in fats?
Pork Sausage Rolls 2 Rolls 24.0g
Cooking Oils 1 Tbsp 14.0g
Thick Cut Bacon 2 Slices 12.0g
French Fries 1 Small Order 11.0g
Vanilla Ice Cream 2/3 Cup - 1 Scoop 10.5g
Chips (Potato Chips) 15 Chips 10.0g
Butter 1 Tbsp 11.5g
Saturated Fats are found in greatest amounts in butter, beef fat, coconut, palm and palm kernel oils. Higher-fat meats and dairy and cakes, cookies and some snack foods are higher in saturated fats. Dishes with many ingredients are common sources of Saturated fats including pizza, casseroles, burgers, tacos and sandwiches.
Trans fats which is short for trans fatty acids, occur naturally in some foods but also artificially produced. Because Trans fats are not healthy, food manufacturers are phasing them out. But Trans fats can still be found in some processed foods, such as some desserts, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, margarine and coffee creamer.
Monounsaturated fats these are found in the greatest amounts in canola, olive, peanut, sunflower and safflower oils and in avocados, peanut butter and most nuts.
Polyunsaturated fats these are found in the greatest amounts in sunflower, corn, soybean and cotton seed oils and in fatty fish, walnuts and some seeds.
To lower saturated fats in your diet:
*Choose cuts of meat with less fat and remove the skin from chicken.
*Use low-fat or fat-free dairy products.
*Choose oils, such as olive or canola, for cooking
*Replace ingredients higher in saturated fats with vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, or lean cuts of meat and poultry.
*Read the Nutrition Facts Label and choose products lower in saturated fats.
Cutting down on fat is only one aspect of achieving a healthy diet.
Resources:-
The group talk on ‘Fats’ was another game changer for me. Not in changing what I eat, but removing the guilt when I eat them. I reached goal on both WW & SW but found it hard to sustain the restricted diet I found myself eating in order to maintain my weight. I started to count calories and introduce some foods back into my ‘Food Bank’ staying within my daily allowance. A small scraping of spread on bread and jam, a little olive oil on garlic bread. The group talk helped me understand why my body was craving them and why fats are needed.
The KNOWLEDGE shared by the group and by Hannah is invaluable, I’m so glad I…