USEFUL AND HARMFUL FATS: what's the difference and whether you need to eat them

There is a misconception that fats in food are harmful to health and figure. In fact, fat is discordant, and the right products with its content will benefit both. A person should get fat every day, otherwise the body will not be able to work properly. Accordingly, he needs fat-rich foods. Depending on what kind of fat you eat, it can be your best friend or the worst enemy.

What is fat?

Fat is an organic substance, a concentrated source of calories. It has twice as much energy as carbohydrates and proteins. Fat enhances the taste of many products, makes them more nutritious, but unlike fiber, it does not give a feeling of satiety. Therefore, people eat faster when they eat whole-grain dishes, fruits and vegetables, and after fatty food, hunger recedes only for a short time. As a result, you eat maximum calories with a minimum of benefit.

Types of fats.

By their origin, fats are divided into animals and vegetable fats. From the point of view of biochemistry, fats are classified as acids and are divided into saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated fats for many years, this type of fat has been associated with the risk of obesity and cardiovascular diseases. But now doctors and nutritionists have changed such a radical opinion. And, despite the fact that saturated fats are inferior in their unsaturated analogues in terms of usefulness, they are vital for the full functioning of the body.

It is especially important to include in your diet foods containing saturated fats for those who are actively engaged in sports, fitness or work in physical work. Refusal of saturated Fatty Acids can harm the body, especially if they are replaced by refined carbohydrates. Saturated fatty acids have a solid crystal structure and therefore the fats they contain are solid. The main products that include saturated fats are pork lard, butter, eggs, meat.

Unsaturated fats are liquid, fluid, as the chemical formula of unsaturated acids lacks hydrogen atoms. Almost all liquid vegetable oils are a vivid example of unsaturated fats.

Non-saturated fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated contain Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, and monounsaturated contain Omega 9. These are the healthiest fats that must be in your diet. The body absorbs them an order of magnitude easier than saturated ones, and they have much more functions.

Omega-3 reduces the level of bad cholesterol and the risk of developing chronic diseases, improves the elasticity of blood vessels.
Omega-6 regulates blood sugar levels, increases good cholesterol and reduces bad cholesterol.
Omega-9 reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and the amount of bad cholesterol.

The human body is able to synthesize omega-9 fatty acids, but omega-3 and omega-6 are not. We can only get them with food, so omega-3 and omega-6 are called indispensable.

But the useful properties of fatty acids are fully revealed only if the correct ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is observed. According to different data, the proportions should be from 1:2 to 1:10. In the vast majority, there is a clear excess of omega-6 in the diet of modern man, about 10 times more than required.

Due to Omega-3 deficiency, Omega-6 fatty acids begin to show properties that are inverse to positive. That's why the balance of fatty acids entering the body is so important.

Liquid oils are difficult to use in baking production. In addition, they quickly deteriorate - they are oxidized due to the presence of "free places" in the structure unoccupied by hydrogen. To save unsaturated fats from these shortcomings, chemists set out to make the product solid and with an extended shelf life.

Specialists added hydrogen atoms (hydrogenization process) to the fat molecules and obtained solid unsaturated fats with a long shelf life - well-known hydrogenated margarines and oils.

But during hydrogenation, hydrogen atoms were attached to fats in the wrong amount and not as in saturated fats. Therefore, the resulting artificially new structure was called transformation, and the product was called trans fats. Trans fats, the result of processing unsaturated, which also increase the level of bad cholesterol and are considered the most harmful fats.

Harm of trans fats.

At first, it was believed that trans fats are useful, they do not harm the body. Hydrogenated oils and margarines were especially attractive for manufacturers - they significantly reduced the cost of production of products and increased their shelf life. But studies have shown that artificially synthesized transform does not "fit" into metabolism and clogs the body. [1]

Trans fats:

Increase the level of "bad" cholesterol;
Increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes;
Increase the risk of diabetes;
Contribute to the development of inflammatory processes;
Promote obesity.

Despite the proven harm, manufacturers continue to add trans fats to the products. Business is business and consumer health is not among its priorities. But if we can't remove harmful products from supermarket shelves, we can clean our refrigerator of "mutants."

Which products contain trans fats:

Industrial baking; sinter
Cakes, sweets;
Sauces, chips, snacks;
Semi-finished products;
Oil-fried donuts, chicken, French fries;
Ice cream;
Cheesecakes - processed, curd, glazed.

If you value your health and the health of your loved ones, remove these products from your grocery basket. By the way, many European countries have completely banned or severely restricted the use of trans fats. Unfortunately, Russia is not yet among them.

Why do we need fats?

Is it worth excluding any kind of fat if you want to lose weight? Doctors do not advise the introduction of strict restrictions even in case of overweight. In addition to affecting the heart and blood vessels, moderately useful fats help to avoid avitaminosis, support the nervous and endocrine systems, improve blood circulation. They are included in the diet of people with sore joints, while not prohibiting the only type of saturated fat - coconut oil. In addition, without fatty acids in the diet, it is difficult to maintain the beauty and elasticity of the skin, which needs omega-3 for moisturizing.

Is it worth excluding fat if you want to lose weight?

Without enough fat, our body cannot function properly.

Useful fats support the cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems, prevent avitaminosis, improve blood circulation.
Our brain consists of 60% fat cells, and insufficient fat disrupts its work.
Without fatty acids, it is impossible to maintain the beauty and elasticity of the skin - Omega-3 provides for its moisturizing.
With a lack of fat, testosterone production decreases.

Therefore, even with an overweight, doctors categorically do not recommend strictly limiting the amount of fat in the diet. Moreover, with a lack of polyunsaturated fat, in particular, Omega-3, not only skin problems begin, but also obesity. It would seem like a paradox, but it really is.

How much saturated and unsaturated fat should be in a person's diet?

There are no universal recommendations on the amount of fat in the diet, it should be calculated individually, depending on lifestyle, activity and existing diseases, as well as the caloric content of the diet. You can overdo it with any, even the most useful product or component, so do not forget about the sense of proportion. Specialists of the World Health Organization believe that 30% is the maximum allowable amount of fat from total food consumed. At the same time, saturated fats should be no more than 10% of this figure, and trans fats should be less than 1%.

This post first appeared on Health & Beauty, please read the originial post: here