Fats make up one of the constituent parts of a basic diet. They are, contrary to many beliefs, essential to healthy human life.What fats are are basically carbohydrates with different ratios of atoms. Therefore, contain more energy and can be used and stored differently. Fat in the body is a yellow colour and looks disgusting. When it is stored in the body in large amounts it is none to pretty either!
They are used in many, many processes of the body. Lets look at a few of them :
Insulation - Fat is used for warmth
Energy - Fat is a secondary source of energy.
Absorption of vitamins - many vitamins are soluble in fat
Cell Health - Membranes of cells often contain fat
Hormone production - many hormones (the body's signals) are actually special types of fats.
Brain Development - Nerves are sheathed by fats enabling signals to travel correctly.
(Erasmus, 1993)
There are a variety of fats existence. However, the most common are the ones known as 'triglycerides.' These can be split into two basic groups:
Saturated and Unsaturated
Saturated fats are the ones most people refer to as 'bad'. They are not as easily broken down and used. Therefore, too many are just stored in the body as 'insulation'. Some people have a lot of 'insulation.'
Foods high in Saturated Fats include:
Fried Foods
Butter
Chocolate
Nuts
Certain cuts of red meat
Unstaturated fats are more easily broken down in the body and can be used more easily in a variety of ways. They are generally considered 'good' fats. There two types known as Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated.
These good Fats can be found in:
Olives
Walnuts
Fish
Peanut Butter
Pumpkin Seeds
Flax Seeds
Avocado
Both of these fats occur in thousands of foods in varying quantities and ratios. Fast foods are known to have high quantities of both of these types of fats and most vegetables have low amounts of fats. The problem we have today is that a lot of people are getting many of their calories from fat and are getting a lot more fat than they need. These people are the major concern as too much fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart disease), certain cancers and even everyday activities much harder.
So, now we have covered that not all fats are 'bad' lets look at the benefits of some fats and where to get them. Some fats cannot be made by our body. These fats are often vital to certain processes in the body. The most famous of these fats are known as Omega 3 fatty acids (part of the group: polyunsaturated fats - notice the word UNSATURATED). They, themselves, are broken up into many other different types with the two most famous among them being DHA and EPA.
Omega 3 fatty acids have research surrounding them and have become almost a celebrity in the fat world or as I like to call them the Oprah of fats! Like Oprah, they are famous for a reason, however. They have studies that link them to: decreased inflammation in inflammatory disorders, decreased risk of heart attacks, some evidence for the decreased risk of problems such as dementia and even the enhancement mental development.
Omega 3 is shown to be vital to us especially in its ratio to a fatty acid known as Omega 6 (which we will discuss in a second!). There are plenty of supplements available (here is a sample range) and of course there are healthy foods that help us get this in:
Fish (oily - herring, mackeral, tuna, salmon etc.)
Flax seeds (though this may be of less use to men due to the content of chemicals similar to the female hormone oestrogen)
Tofu
Shellfish
(I will release more information on foods at a later date)
Another, commonly discussed fatty acid is Omega 6. Omega 6 (the major one is known as Linoleic Acid) That is also vital to healthy human living. However, it is more readily available in foods that are commonly eaten by people. They likewise play a benefit to brain function and metabolism regulation and healthy growth as long as they are maintained in an effective ratio with Omega 3 (the best ratio can range depending on disease or effect from 2.5:1 to 5:1 Omega 6: Omega 3) The problem is that because of the foods that contain Omega 6 are so readily available to us we could actually do with cutting it out a little more as decreasing the high amount of Omega 6 will help us feel the benefits of its cousin, Omega 3.
Example Foods that contain Omega 6:
Oil - almost all oils
Eggs
Wheat
Poultry
Coconut
Now lets get onto another thing we class as fats: cholesterol. It is not strictly a fat but has been made famous in the media over recent years as a fat. It is actually a protein (proteins will be discussed soon) and fat combination that transports fat around the bodies in different ratios of fat to protein. Cholesterol has long been associated with fat people and heart attacks. Most older people will have their cholesterol checked at some point as will anyone who is obese. However, cholesterol itself is not a bad thing, in fact, like anything in the body, it is vital to life. Yet, too much can cost a person their life. There are 2 types of cholesterol that are important to understand. HDL and LDL. These are the pizza boys that carry fat around the body in the blood. They are part protein and are part fat (lipid) and only found in animal products NOT any plant ones. The body has receptors for these so that they get transported where they need to go. Lets ignore HDL for now and focus on the trouble makers: LDL . They are more fat than protein (would float on water) and are the deliverers of fat to cells in the arteries. Here they can be oxidized and can get stuck to the arterial walls. The walls of the arteries become thinner, blood pressure raises and heart attacks happen.
Conversely HDL has the opposite affect acting to remove fats from the arterial wall and taking them to the liver. It is a positive ratio of HDL to LDL that people want to maintain to keep a healthy body.
Here is a list of foods that make LDL cholesterol higher:
Fast food - almost all kinds from your donor kebab to your big Mac (Thomas Hue your probably going to get a heart attack at 22)
Cheese
Meats
Cream
etc.
Here's a list of foods that can help you reduce it or increase the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol:
Eggs (high in cholesterol but HDL cholesterol!)
Cocoa (try for dark chocolate if you are going to eat it!)
Cranberry Juice
Berries
(almost all other antioxidant foods will help!)
So far we have seen some true positives and negatives of fat (and their derivatives) in the body. It is clear that too much of a good thing could possibly kill you much earlier than you had planned! Yet, we have not discussed how much is too much. It is a question that is hotly debated and a perfect amount for everyone is almost impossible to find. However, it is the types of fats that are taken in that can cause the most problems as aforementioned. Still, the government recommends a Guideline Daily Amount of 70g for an adult woman (about a 5th more for an adult man) with 20g of fat coming from saturates meaning that perhaps a Big Mac everyday is off the cards but one every now and then is OK (Tom your safe).
Too much fat on a person, which is a common problem (Tom your less safe), is the single largest problem with fat. Fat is stored easily by the body and once it is there the body finds it hard to let it go! Too much body fat has potentially been at fault for 26% of deaths in the UK between 1979 and 2006 and has cost the NHS over 5.1 billion pounds. To remove it the diet must be spot on (fat loss diets, that work, tend to work at -500 calories off your usual daily intake). Nevertheless, diet alone will not get your Rick Waller into a Brad Pitt. Exercise is a vital constituent of trying to remove any excess fat you may have attained or are trying to prevent from appearing.
The fundamentals of exercise and its relationship to fat are simple. Fat is energy, energy is needed to move and therefore, at some point, (excluding any more intake of energy) fat will power exercise. To remove extra fat the energy burnt must exceed the energy intake. Extra activity on top of your usual amount will, when manipulated sufficiently, help to remove the excess fat by creating the calorie deficit necessary. (Stay tuned for more information on this process!)
Anyway, that is the basics of fat. These basics will underline the reasons for various programs, diets etc. that will come up in later blogs.
Much Love.
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