Fat-harm or benefit?
Our diet is a mixture of proteins, fats and carbohydrates with a slight addition of trace elements and vitamins. Should we completely abandon those components that seem to us harmful to the body, such as fat, says our nutritionist Oleg Vladimirov.
Fats bring the most calories to the body, so doctors often advise to reduce the amount of fatty foods to maintain a normal weight, and even better to give it up altogether! However, not all fats are harmful, there are also those that are called useful. Healthy fats are divided into three groups: saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated with hydrogen atoms.
Saturated fats
Saturated fats at room temperature are more often solid, their source is animal products (beef, fatty dairy products), as well as tropical oils (coconut, palm), which are often used in the food industry because of their cheapness and ability not to deteriorate for a long time, but their benefits for the body are questionable.
Monounsaturated fats
Unsaturated fats are often liquid at room temperature, and they are often subjected to so-called hydrogenation to harden. The resulting products (margarine, spreads) are more harmful than saturated fats, and contain trans-fatty acids, which increase the risk of coronary disease, cardiovascular and cancer diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and can also lead to infertility.
The source of monounsaturated fats is canola oil and nut oils, as well as olive and peanut oil. Their main useful property is to equalize the ratio of bad and good cholesterol, while maintaining the normal level of total cholesterol.
Polyunsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fats are divided into three types, called Omega 3, 6, and 9. All of them bring great benefits to the body, in particular, reduce chronic inflammation and improve tissue metabolism. Polyunsaturated fats are necessary for a healthy person in an amount of 5 to 10 g per day, their main source is vegetable oils from nuts, as well as fatty fish. The fish should be marine, caught in the cold northern waters, and you should not give up canned fish in oil — they will also benefit the body.
It is obvious that fats, which many consider the source of all their troubles, actually have a lot of useful properties, so, despite their high caloric content, it is dangerous to exclude them from the diet. Nutrition should be as diverse as possible — for the normal development and functioning of our body requires a full range of nutrients. You can get rid of the excess calories by increasing the body’s energy consumption, there are enough ways to do this: you can reduce the ambient temperature by simply opening, for example, a window, or you can make an effort and finally reach the gym! It is this, and not the rejection of the necessary fats, that will really benefit the body.