Dietary fats have a lot of people arguing. Regular people and dietitians alike, argue with each other whenever it comes to this topic. Some say you should eat as much of these fats as possible, others say that you need to avoid them at all cost. So, let's get down to this.
Humans And Dietary Fat
Humans have been consuming fat from meat, fish and different plants for thousands, and millions of years, depending on how far you want to go into our ancestry, so we have developed alongside them. Many scientists now believe that the reason that humans have evolved this way because we have consumed fat found mainly in meat. Our brains consist of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. So we are so smart because throughout the evolutionary course we have consumed fat that now makes up our brain tissues.
There's different types of fats. I'll list them all:
Unsaturated Fats - are fats that are mostly found in plant-based foods and fish. They can help you improve your blood cholesterol, help with inflammation and generally better your health. Also, omega-3 essential fatty acids. are unsaturated fats. These include:
Monounsaturated fats that are fats found in:
Olive, peanut, and canola oils
Avocados
Nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans
Seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds
Polyunsaturated fats that are fats found in:
Sunflower, corn, soybean, and flax seed oils
Walnuts
Flax seeds
Fish
Canola oil – though higher in monounsaturated fat, it’s also a good source of polyunsaturated fat
Saturated Fats - are fats that are mostly found in meats and milk products. They can help you keep a hormonal balance, they are very important to the production of testosterone, growth hormone and many other hormones and, despite some claims, it beneficial for your hearth, brain and other organs. This type of fat has been demonized for quite a few decades. There has been claims made, that it increases your chances of developing cancer and heart disease. These negative claims have been made on both saturated fat and cholesterol. However, recently there has been a large number of studies made, that disprove this. This is one of them. And here's a few example of foods that are high in saturated fats:
Dairy foods – such as butter, cream, ghee, regular-fat milk and cheese
Meat – such as fatty cuts of beef, pork and lamb, processed meats like salami, sausages and the skin on chicken
Palm oil
Cooking margarine and copha
Coconut oil, milk and cream
It's important to note, that some foods that contain saturated fats, also contain other nutrients and even toxins that can harm your body. So you shouldn't eat them because of these nutrients, rather than because of saturated fat. These foods are, for the most part, processed foods. Ham burgers, pizzas and so on.
Trans Fats - here we go. These are fats that I personally recommend everyone to avoid. You see, humans have been consuming both - unsaturated and saturated fats, for millions of years. But trans fats, are man-made fatty acids, and can be quite dangerous. They are made by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst. This process is called hydrogenation. Trans fats have been proven to cause or, at least, contribute to clogged arteries, heart diseases, heart attacks and strokes. Avoid them. Here's a few examples of foods that, nowadays, often contain trans fats:
Cakes, Pies and Cookies
Margarine
Pop Corn
Biscuits
Doughnuts
Frozen Pizzas
Fast Foods that have been fried
Conclusion
So, to conclude, both saturated and non saturated fats are very beneficial. There had been a lot of myths created to demonize them, especially when it comes to saturated fats, but they have been disproved, for the most part, and science now proves otherwise, that they can help in making you hormonally, physiologically and even mentally. So eat your veggies, but also don't hold back to your meats and other animal products. But at all cost avoid trans fat, avoid cakes, margarine, doughnuts and alike. And you will be well on your way to a healthy and long life.
very interesting post!