Fats. Good V bad
I could go on here for
the literally pages and pages on what fats are good and what are bad, how they
work in the body, what the chemical molecular structure of fat is etc etc etc;
and you would be bored out of your brain. So what I’m going to do is tell you
in the simplest terms what I know about fats good and bad.
There are 3 types of
fats that are important to know about.
1)
Saturated
Fat
2)
Unsaturated
Fat (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated)
3)
Essential
Fatty Acids.
So what are the
differences? And which ones are good, and which ones are the ones that you MUST
stay away from?
Well this section will
give you all the information you need to answer that 1 question.
Lets start with Saturated Fats.
Saturated fats tend to
occur naturally at room temperature as a solid. The meat that you buy in your
local supermarket or butcher has fat that you cut off or trim. This is saturated
fat. Other saturated fats include dairy fat, butter; egg yolk and chocolate
just to name a few. Saturated fats are THE MOST HARMFUL to your body and your
health. They lead to increased levels of cholesterol in the blood.
Unsaturated Fats.
These fats tend to
lower the body’s cholesterol levels. They contain the essential fatty acids
that the body requires for healthy production. Polyunsaturated fats can be
found in fish, nuts (walnut, pecan, macadamia, almonds) flaxseed oil, soybean
oil, and sunflower and safflower oil. Monounsaturated fats can be found in
avocados, cashews, peanuts natural peanut butter olives and olive oil.
Essential Fatty Acids
The essential fatty
acids are needed because the body is unable to make these essential nutrients
itself, and therefore relies on you to put them into your system. The essential
fatty acids that are needed for the body are found in monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated foods mentioned above, but some are obviously higher than
others.
The 2 essential Fatty
acids are Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s. Usually what happens when people restrict
fat in their diet, they stop eating things that provide these 2 essential fatty
acids for your body. When you have a deficiency in these essential fatty acids,
your body tells you this. Lack of omega 3’s can result in dry flaky skin.
Omega 3’s and 6’s can
be provided quite easily in your diet with supplementation. A fantastic source
of these EFA’s is flaxseed oil. 1 teaspoon of a cold press flaxseed oil in your
diet every day can dramatically improve your chances for increased weight loss.
Other benefits you can
achieve by ensuring the right amount of EFA’s in your diet are
· Improve insulin sensitivity
· Improve skin texture
· They increase your Metabolic Rate
· They help burn fat.
· They are essential for joint health.
These are just a few points as to why EFA’s are needed in your diet.
Also, you can see that having the right amount of fats in your diet, of the
correct type don’t hinder your weight loss, but rather supercharge it. Just
another piece of information that is going to get you on the right track to
your weight loss goals.
One incredibly
important piece of information to remember is the calorie density of fats. 100%
of a fats calories, comes from fat. This is incredibly important. You need to
really concentrate on how many grams of fat you are actually inputting, because
even a small handful of nuts a couple of times a day, will dramatically
increase your total calorie intake, which will inevitable put you over your
daily limit. So just be really aware of what fats you are eating, and how many
of those you are adding to your daily limit.
