The propaganda against dietary fats over the past couple of
decades is unfortunate. Fats can be a
valuable part of your nutrition plan, even (or should I say, especially) if
your goal is fat loss. Gone is the
outdated notion that "fat makes you fat." Overconsumption of calories makes you fat,
but that is a rant for another day...
Today, I will share some reasons you should keep some fats in your diet, as well as, how and why to be selective about the fats you consume.
1.) Healthy fats improve insulin sensitivity and can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Healthy fats such as monounsaturated fats found in olive oil
and omega 3 fats found in fish, nuts and eggs have been found to exert potent
insulin-sensitizing effects and can potentially ameliorate insulin resistance
associated with obesity (González-Périz, et al., 2009). Good sources of omega 3 include flax seeds,
chia seeds, walnuts, sea vegetables, green leafy vegetables, and cold water
fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, and trout.
2.) Essential fatty acids cannot be produced by the body and must be obtained from the diet
ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid, and linoleic acid (LA), an
omega-6 fatty acid, are considered essential fatty acids because humans cannot
make them (Linus Pauling
Institute, 2013). Essential fatty acids are
building blocks for the cell membranes inside our bodies. We American tend to get plenty of omega-6
fatty acids in our diet from sources such as canola and vegetable oil; however,
our diets are severely deficient in omega 3's found in the sources mentioned in
item #1. Also, if you eat beef, choose
grass-fed beef which has a superior ratio of O3:O6 than traditional grain-fed
beef. It also tends to be significantly
leaner.
3.) Some nutrients from vegetables require fat in order to be properly absorbed by the body.
Various fats and oils help your body use the ß-carotene
present in spinach and other vegetables such as carrot and pumpkin (Nagao A et
al., 2013). So, use moderate amounts of
a full-fat vinaigrette rather than fat-free salad dressing to get the most
health benefits from your salad. You
will notice that Wish-Bone salad dressings have used findings such as these as an effective marketing strategy.
4.) Omega 3 fatty acids have potent anti-inflammitory effects.
Chronic low-grade tissue inflammation is a key factor in a
number of chronic conditions including insulin resistance, obesity, fatty liver
disease and type 2 diabetes. It has been
demonstrated that omega 3 supplementation can reduce markers of all of these conditions
(Oh, et al., 2010). If you are not
getting enough Omega 3 from your diet, you can supplement with Fish Oil
capsules, or try my personal favorite of mixing balsamic vinegar with flaxseed
oil for a delicious salad dressing.
5.) Fats help you to feel less hungry and may help you stick to your eating plan longer term.
McManus & Antinoro (2001) compared diet moderate in fat
compared to a standard low-fat diet for weight loss, both of which were calorie
restricted. They found better long-term participation and adherence to the
program, as well as more weight loss among those who were on a moderate fat program.
So remember that the bottom line is the calorie deficit, not necessarily the
composition of the macronutrients of your intake. After you have established your daily caloric needs and your protein requirement, you can distribute your carbs and fats ad lib.
6.) We need nutrients are present in fat-containing foods.
I am going to use the highly demonized egg-yolk as the
example here. Sure, egg yolks have cholesterol, but they are also very rich
sources of vitamins A,D,E,K, as well as iron, calcium and folate (Environmental
Nutrition, 2012). Omega 3 enriched eggs
have a superior fatty acid profile to "regular" eggs, as the hens are
fed a diet including flax seeds instead of just corn and other grains. The best eggs you can buy are those sold by your
neighbor (here in the deep south where I am).
You will notice that the yolks of these are brighter yellow, which is
produced by the rich concentrations of carotenoids. If you do have high cholesterol, you may want
to limit your consumption to one egg yolk per day.
7.) Healthy fats keep your brain sharp.
Your brain cells require specific fats, which is a
no-brainer since your brain is made of about 2/3 fat. Give your nogan the building blocks it needs
from essential fatty acids and enjoy the protective effects essential fatty
acids have against stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease (Zhang,
et al., 2011).
8.) Good fats help protect you against heart disease.
Many low fat diet plans replace the fat in the diet with carbohydrates
to maintain the same number of calories.
While most people are under the impression that a low fat diet helps to
reduce risk of heart disease, a study performed by Jakobsen, et al. (2009)
demonstrated those who replaced saturated fat intake with carbohydrates also
had an increased incidence of coronary events. Those who replaced saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats, however, had
lower incidence of heart disease.
I write this article, not because I am trying to convince
you that cutting calories is unhealthy.
Yes, weight loss has innumerable health benefits; however, the manner in
which the weight is lost is of equal importance. The chronic dieter is also at risk for being
undernourished because of misleading advice from the millions of fad diet
experts out there promising quick results.
It is difficult to know who to listen to. The main point is to be selective about which
fats you consume. The standard American
diet typically is “rich” in cheap oils which provide no health benefits at all,
so we are told to cut fats across the board. Over the years, we have been
convinced to avoid one macronutrient (fat or carb) over another, yet as a
nation, our weight continues to rise. As
we are overfed, we are becoming increasingly undernourished as the cheap mass
produced foods that now dominate our diet are extremely nutrient-poor. Choosing the most nutrient-rich foods that
you can fit into your calorie budget ensure that you get the best health
benefits possible while you lose weight. Note - nowhere in this article did I give you permission to eat a cheeseburger!
This nutrition advice is not intended to diagnose or treat any illness. If you have any health problems, please consult with your health care provider before making changes to your diet.
References:
Environmental Nutrition Editors (n.d.). Skip the egg yolk, skimp on nutrition -
Chicago Tribune. Featured Articles From
The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-11/lifestyle/sns-201204101600--tms--premhnstr--k-d20120411apr11_1_yolk-cholesterol-matters-eggstra
González-Périz, A., Horrillo, R., Ferré, N., Gronert, K.,
Dong, B., Morán-Salvador, E., ... & Clària, J. (2009). Obesity-induced
insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis are alleviated by ω-3 fatty acids: a
role for resolvins and protectins. The FASEB Journal, 23(6), 1946-1957.
Katan, M. B., Brouwer, I. A., Clarke, R., Geleijnse, J. M.,
& Mensink, R. P. (2010). Saturated fat and heart disease. The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92(2), 459-460.
Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. (n.d.).
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from http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/omega3fa/
McManus, K., Antinoro, L., & Sacks, F. (2001). A
randomized controlled trial of a moderate-fat, low-energy diet compared with a
low fat, low-energy diet for weight loss in overweight adults. International
journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders: journal of the
International Association for the Study of Obesity, 25(10), 1503-1511.
Nagao A, Kotake-Nara E, Hase M. (2013). Effects of Fats and Oils on the
Bioaccessibility of Carotenoids and Vitamin E in Vegetables. National Food Research Institute, National
Agriculture and Food Research Organization. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from
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Oh, D. Y., Talukdar, S., Bae, E. J., Imamura, T., Morinaga,
H., Fan, W., ... & Olefsky, J. M. (2010). GPR120 is an omega-3 fatty acid
receptor mediating potent anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects. Cell,
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Zhang, W., Li, P., Hu, X., Zhang, F., Chen, J., & Gao,
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