Is fat bad for your health and makes you fat?
Nowadays, fat is always pegged with the word “unhealthy”. Before making any judgment towards “fat”, there is a need to recognize the presence of various types of fats and to understand that not every fat is bad for the human body. Remember, not every man is the same.
Generally speaking, dietary fats are essential to the human body in various ways and people shall prioritize unsaturated fat over saturated & trans fat in their diets. For instance, it is an energy source, important for cells to grow and repair, helps with some nutrients absorptions, produces important hormones, and acts as an insulator to keep us warm. In the following, the table will show all types of fats in the world with their characteristics and their food sources:
Types of fats Characteristics Food source Saturated
Raises LDL cholesterol in the blood
Foster heart diseases
Unprocessed food
Fatty cuts of meats
Eggs
Unsaturated
Polyunsaturated
Monounsaturated
Lowers LDL cholesterol in blood if replacing saturated fats in the diet
Fish oils (Omega-3)
Oils (Omega-6) i.e. Safflower, soybean oil, nuts
Raises LDL cholesterol in blood
Foster heart diseases
Processed food
Butter
Dairy
Kinds of Margarine
Packaged food
So, how much fat should individuals intake daily? According to the American Heart Association, it is recommended to control saturated fat intake at 5-6% of the total calories. While the daily total intake of dietary fat shall be sitting at around 20-35% of the total calorie intake. For example, it is about 44g to 77g of fat per day for people who have a 2,000 calories diet. People who are having a cutting diet should even have more fat intake as it helps them to stay satiated in a deficit throughout the day since fat is fulfilling and takes longer time to digest than carbs. In addition, prioritizing fat over carbs is beneficial to those who are insulin-insensitive as it helps to maintain insulin levels in the blood and hence feeling less sleepy.
To conclude, fats are not always our enemies and perils. It all depends on which types of fat you are having and the only thing you need to do is to pick the right fat. Don’t be afraid to have some more unsaturated fats (healthy fats) in your diets as it brings you more goods than harms. Hope you found the information above handy and stay tuned for more interesting content!
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