Most of us associate fat consumption with unhealthy eating. However, this is not true. Fats are as essential for body as are protein & carbohydrates. Depending upon the source, fat can increase or decrease bad cholesterol(LDL) in your body.
Fat gives you energy to carry on with usual work. When you are indulged in workout, initial energy is gathered from carbohydrates however after a period of 20 to 25 minutes, body uses calories from fat to get going.Â
Consumption of fat offers following features/benefits:
- It fills up fat cells & insulates the body to keep you warm.
- It keeps your skin & hair healthy & absorbs vitamin A, B, D & K, also called Fat soluble vitamins.
- It gives your body essential fatty acids which body cannot develop on its own. These acid aids in brain development & blood clotting.
Fats are saturated & unsaturated based on each type of fatty acids they contain. Saturated acids increase bad cholesterol level & is one of primary reasons for heart attack/stroke & other health problems. Most of animal products such as cheese, ice cream, whole milk, butter & fatty meats have high level of saturated fats. Some vegetable oils( solid at room temperature) such as coconut & palm also contain saturated fats. To have a healthy diet, one should keep saturated fats below 6% of total daily calorie intake.
Unsaturated fats lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) & are healthy for body. The following are two types of Unsaturated fats
- Mono-unsaturated fats includes olive & canola oil. You should always consider making vegetables in olive oil.
- Poly-unsaturated fats includes sunflower, corn & soy oil.
You should avoid consumption of trans fatty acid which is generally formed by hardening of vegetable oils. These are used by restaurants to keep foods fresh for longer time. These fatty acids increase LDL level & must be avoided.
To sum up, fats are essential for generating energy for body & should be consumed in form of unsaturated fats. One should avoid consuming saturated fatty acids & at best should eat food which does not have saturated fatty acids exceeding 6%. One should limit consumption of food at restaurants which uses high level of trans fat for food preparation
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