Will Fat Make You Fat?
All about Fat
Why is it important?
While often getting a bad reputation, fat plays a crucial role in our body's metabolism, immunity, hormone production, vitamin absorbency, and energy production. It is also very important for satiety - feeling full after meals and between meals.
Fats (particularly healthy fats, which we'll explore below) can protect the cardiovascular system, improve body composition, and help with depression. It can also play a role in energy balance and preserving memory as we age. Our brain contains lots of fat, so we must continue to provide the right nutrients to keep it functioning optimally.
Sources of fat
Fat can be broken down into subcategories of saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated fats can be further broken down into mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated. These different types are determined by the chemical structure, but they play a big role in how our body responds to them.
Monounsaturated: avocados, nuts, olive oil
Polyunsaturated: most oils (other than olive and coconut) like corn, soybean, canola
Saturated: animal fats, coconut oil
There's also another type of fat called trans fat. This is typically man-made (helps improve the shelf life of foods) and is found in baked goods and packaged foods, but it's terrible for our bodies. Fortunately, there's been a big push to eliminate this type of fat from many foods, but we should still keep an eye out for it.
Healthy Fat vs. Unhealthy Fat
Trans fat is unhealthy. Saturated fat has been historically considered unhealthy, although more recent research suggests it can be fine in moderate amounts. Unsaturated fat is considered "healthy."
Other than trans fat, we should be careful calling any type of fat "good" or "bad." Instead we must look at the source. A better definition of "healthy fat" might be unprocessed or minimally processed fats from whole foods, regardless of whether its saturated or unsaturated.
Unhealthy fats are those that are industrially produced for the purpose of extending shelf life. This would include virtually all trans fats and hydrogenated fats like margarine. It also includes many shelf-stable cooking oils like soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil.
Balance is key
Before being bombarded with industrially produced oils, most people ate a balance of fat (unsaturated and saturated). This balance helped keep most people away from today's chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. But today we seem to be losing that balance.
There are two types of polyunsaturated fat: Omega-3 and Omega-6. You've probably heard a lot about Omega-3s. They're found in things like fish (salmon in particular), chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, and eggs. Omega-6s are found in a lot of seed oils like canola, safflower, and sunflower oil.
Research has suggested that an optimal balance of Omega-6 vs Omega-3 is between 1:1 and 3:1. Right now the average ratio for humans is anywhere from 16:1 to 20:1. We're way out of balance. And being out of balance leads to a lot of inflammation in the body, potentially contributing to different chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. Bringing our ratio closer to 1:1 can reduce our risk of these illnesses.
We get too many Omega-6s from processed foods and refined cooking oils, while we aren't eating enough Omega-3-rich foods. Eating factory-farmed meat, eggs, and dairy results in an Omega-6-heavy ratio. On the other hand, grass-fed beef and dairy, along with free-range eggs, wild-caught fish, and chia and flax seeds provide a much better balance of fatty acids.
How much?
The general recommendation for fat intake is between 20-35% of calories, but those same recommendations also suggest 50-65% of calories from carbohydrates (which is probably way too much). Each person is going to be different, but 30-40% can be a good starting point for most people. Keep in mind it's very important that fat comes from good sources. Eating large amounts of poor-quality fat won't help anyone.
Fat comes with more calories (9 cal/gram) than protein (4 cal/gram) or carbohydrates (4 cal/gram). That doesn't mean it's bad. It just means we need to consider those extra calories when adding it to our meals. While olive oil can provide a lot of benefits, one cup of olive oil will have a negative impact as it will provide far too many calories and too much fat for your body to handle in one sitting. When it comes to concentrated sources like oils, it's important to remember that a little goes a long way.
Conclusion
As with most issues in nutrition, quality is paramount. We must keep in mind that not all fat is created equal. We should avoid trans fat, most commonly found in baked goods and some cooking oils. We should also limit our consumption of vegetable oils like corn, canola and soybean oil. Fat in pre-packaged food can almost certainly be put into the “unhealthy” category.
A helpful concept for healthy eating plan is to stick to real foods - foods that were once living. Was a twinkie ever alive? Unprocessed plant and animal sources should make up the majority of our food. Get dietary fat from high quality sources like coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, grass-fed or wild caught animal products (like meat, dairy and fish) and pastured poultry and eggs. Many of these sources also contain protein to help maintain and build lean muscle mass.
Fat can also make food taste better, so don't forget to enjoy yourself!
Let’s keep moving forward!
Your bStrong Team