The Importance of Fats Explained!

The Importance of Fats

There are 2 types of fats. There is the good fat, which we refer to as unsaturated fat, and there is bad fat, which is referred to as saturated fat.

Good/unsaturated fat is essential in a diet to keep the metabolism burning.  They give you energy and help your body to grow and develop with the transportation of essential vitamins A,D,E and K. It fills your fat cells in your body to keep you warm and insulated which aids in a faster metabolism.

There are 2 types of good fats:

1.)    Monounsaturated fat - oils like olive, canola and grape seed, Nuts and seeds, Lean meat and avocado.

2.)    Polyunsaturated fat - Generally found in oily fish such as salmon or tuna.

Both good fats help to lower your LDL levels which is commonly known as the cholesterol level in the body. This means that it helps keep the arteries clear and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Bad fats also come in 2 separate forms. These are commonly known as saturated fats and Trans fats. Unfortunately, they have no known health benefits based on research up to date. These fats reduce the amount of good cholesterol in the body and have the opposite effect as the good cholesterol. They increase the chance of heart disease by solidifying in the blood vessels to create blockages.

Let me tell you where you can be misled into eating these foods:

1.)    Saturated fats - animal fats, palm oil, biscuits chips, full fat dairy products such as butter and cream.

2.)    Trans fats- Cakes, biscuits, takeaway food, vegetable shortening, margarines, snack foods and even energy bars.  

Due to being bad for the body, the body has a lot more trouble burning this fat. You could think of it as a more solid liquid in the blood than good fat.

Keep in mind that good fats are essential in your everyday dieting because they cannot be made in the body. It is part of a balanced diet!