Choosing a healthy source of fat

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Nearly the most important aspect of meal plans for those looking to lose weight or get fit is reducing their calorie intake. First of all, the candidates for exclusion from the menu are, of course, fats, the calorie content of which is almost twice as high as that of proteins and carbohydrates. However, do not forget that fat is essential for the body. Without them, you will not be able to assimilate many vitamins, produce a number of hormones, the correct metabolism of cholesterol will be disrupted, and the cell membranes will become weaker. Another thing is that the fats consumed must be "correct".

I think you are well aware that eliminating fat from the menu altogether is a bad way to get a slender figure. But some people still can't resist low-calorie, fat-free foods. Then, especially for you, let me remind you again: fats are necessary for the body!

Fats, like other nutrients, must be supplied to the body in sufficient quantities, since they perform a number of specific functions, namely:

• Participate in the formation of body cells. This means that the skin will be elastic, the nerves and blood vessels will be strong, and the brains will be efficient.
• Essential for maintaining immunity. Pay attention to whether you catch colds more often when dieting.
• Needed for normal digestion. The assimilation of many vitamins and minerals is impossible without fats.

• With a lack of fat in the diet, the reproductive functions of the body are impaired.

  Of course, if you're on a diet, the temptation to cut fat is great. After all, this way you can eat much more other foods. However, according to the recommendations of nutritionists, the daily diet should be 20-30% fat. True, given the high calorie content of fat (9 kcal / g), this is not so much: about 25 grams for every thousand kilocalories (a little more than a tablespoon of vegetable oil or a couple of bacon slices). Therefore, this small amount of calories is best obtained from healthy sources of fat.

  Let's remember the lessons of chemistry

  Fats are organic compounds that are broken down to form fatty acids. The part of the fatty acid molecule of interest to us is the carbon chain, the structure of which is different for acids. There can be single bonds between carbon atoms (then fats are saturated) or double / triple (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated - for one or more double / triple bonds in the carbon chain).

  However, all of the above does not mean that there is some kind of oil or fat in which we will find fatty acids of only one structure. Natural products are mixtures of chemical compounds of very different structures. Sources of saturated fatty acids are animal products: milk, pork, beef, lamb fat. Sources of unsaturated fatty acids are usually vegetable oils. But there are exceptions:

  • fish and chicken oil, liquid at room temperature, - a source of unsaturated fatty acids,
  • butter, palm, coconut and cocoa butter, which are solid at room temperature, are sources of saturated fatty acids.

  To attribute a product to a source of saturated or unsaturated acids, one should focus not on its common name (oil or fat), but on whether it is liquid at room temperature or not.

  What fatty acids do we need

  Today, most nutritionists are inclined to believe that unsaturated fats are more useful for our body. They contribute to the normalization of cholesterol, insulin and blood sugar levels.

  For promotional purposes, special emphasis is placed on omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated acids. The main feature of these acids is that the human body cannot produce them on its own, so they must be supplied in sufficient quantities with food. Moreover, in a certain ratio, namely 1: 4 (ω-3: ω-6).

  Beneficial omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated acids should be ingested in a ratio of about 1: 4.

  However, monounsaturated fats are also good for the body, especially for the heart.

  As for saturated fats, they take part in such biologically important processes as the construction of cell membranes, the absorption of vitamins and minerals, the synthesis of hormones (ladies, this is especially important for you!). True, they are required less than unsaturated ones.

  Most healthcare organizations around the world agree that saturated fat should not exceed 10% of the daily diet. This means that the average man who spends most of his life in a chair (office, car, warm in front of the TV) is supposed to have about 30 grams of butter per day. And if you take into account those saturated fats that come with other products (meat, fast food, dairy products), you can safely divide this amount in half.

  A pack of butter is usually 180 grams. We divide it into 12 parts - we get the "allowed" 15 grams. Women can safely divide the tutu into 18 parts.

  However, there is no point in skipping saturated fat altogether. They are the best option for frying food, since the double bonds of unsaturated fats during heat treatment are actively oxidized directly into carcinogenic substances.

  You can also try using coconut and palm oils for these purposes, which are closest to butter in chemical composition. However, it should be remembered that the price of such oils must be quite high in order to guarantee their high quality.

  For cooking foods, it is better to use saturated fats (butter, lard, coconut and quality palm oil), since the oxidation of unsaturated fats leads to the formation of carcinogenic substances.

  What you should definitely avoid is trans fats (margarine, spreads, cheap pastries, mayonnaise, fast food). Trans fats are the "bad" isomers of healthy unsaturated fats. They are formed during the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Usually during this process, liquid vegetable oils become thick and cloudy. The harmfulness of trans fats has already been confirmed, and health organizations around the world are advising to reduce the amount in food as much as possible.

  So, let's make an intermediate conclusion:

  1. Fats are essential for the human body. But their number should not be too high.
  2. Animal fats (lard, fatty meat, butter) are good for cooking food.
  3. Trans fats should be excluded from the diet as much as possible.

  4. Most of the incoming fats must be a source of unsaturated fatty acids.

     Choosing sources of unsaturated fats

     Healthy fats, as well as almost all vitamins, are found in fish. Most of them are in the following species: sea bass, chum salmon, mackerel, carp, salmon. Naturally, you should give preference to fresh fish, rather than canned and smoked species.

     But vegetable oils are the main source of unsaturated fatty acids. Their choice is wide: sunflower, olive, flaxseed, camelina, pumpkin, sesame, mustard, corn, rapeseed, from grape seeds, wheat germ, walnuts … The list is endless, since if you want to squeeze out oil, you can do a lot of what products.

     Almost every vegetable oil is a source of essential omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Let me remind you once again that the proportion of omega-3 in the incoming food should not be too high.

     There is absolutely no omega-3 in sunflower and coconut oil, as well as in more exotic varieties - saffron, macadamia oil.

     There is a lot of omega-6 in grape seed oil, as well as in cottonseed and sesame seeds. The closest ratio of ω-3: ω-6 to the optimal 1: 4 in flaxseed (1: 0, 2), rapeseed (1: 1, 8), mustard oils (1: 2, 6) and walnut oil (1: 5).

     The record holders for the content of monounsaturated fats are olive and canola oils.

     Sunflower and rapeseed oil contains the most vitamin E. Olive, sesame and flaxseed oil contains less of it.

     Mustard oil also contains significant amounts of vitamin A and beta-carotene.

     

     Summarize

     1. Oils and fats are very high in calories, so you need to add them to food in small quantities.
     2. There is no point in avoiding fats: without them, you will not be able to absorb vitamins, and the body will not be able to function normally. Salad without oil will only become a source of fiber, and most of the nutrients will not be absorbed.
     3. Be guided in oils / fats not by their name, but by their state of aggregation at room temperature: liquid ones contain more unsaturated fatty acids, and solid ones - saturated ones.
     4. The best option would be a more or less balanced diet, in which vegetable oils will be the main sources of fat. Add them to ready-made meals. But you should not fry using vegetable oils.
     5. For frying, ordinary butter is best suited.
     6. Try to exclude foods containing trans fats from the menu as much as possible (fast food, low-quality confectionery, semi-finished products and ready-made food of unknown composition). Avoid spreads, in other words, butter with the addition of hydrogenated vegetable oil.
     7. Try to listen to the signals of your body: try different healthy oils and be guided by your taste.

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