Avoid eating fat if you want to lose weight? About these dietary fats, you must not know the definition of fat. Generally speaking, fat can be divided into dietary fat and body fat, and their definitions will be different. Body fat is the excess energy stored by our bodies when we are hungry, which is used as fuel to store your organs and isolate them from the cold. Also called adipose tissue, it can be stored as subcutaneous fat or visceral fat; Having a certain amount of body fat is indispensable for survival and health, but too much body fat can lead to chronic health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease.
A certain amount of body fat is indispensable for survival and health, but too much body fat can lead to many chronic diseases. On the other hand, the simplest statement of dietary fat is the fat we eat in our diet, which is also an important and necessary energy source. 1 Fat contains about 9 calories per gram, which provides more than twice as much calories as the same amount of carbohydrates or protein (4 calories per gram). Because of high calories, it is easy to get fat by eating too much dietary fat. However, just because food contains dietary fat does not mean it is unhealthy. Correct dietary fat plays an important role in our body, which, like excessive intake of carbohydrates or protein, will lead to a large accumulation of body fat. So eating too much dietary fat can also lead to an increase in body fat.
Definition of total fat When you look at the nutrition label on food packaging, you will definitely see the words total fat, which is an index to measure dietary fat in packaged food. Total fat is the sum of different types of fat, including saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat, and of course trans fat.
Different types of fats Although total fat is a favorable data indicator of dietary intake, in order to distinguish healthy fat from unhealthy fat, you still need to know saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat and trans fat. What do these four fats represent?
1. saturated fat
Dietary fat from animals is mostly saturated fat, and some plant foods such as coconut oil also provide saturated fat, but it is somewhat different from saturated fat in meat products. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature. Examples of saturated fat include lard and beef fat. A high content of saturated fat in the diet may increase the risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends limiting the intake of saturated fat to less than 7% of the total daily calorie intake.
2. Trans fats
The most dangerous of all dietary fats is trans fat, which is an unsaturated fat. Vegetable oil is hydrogenated to make its structure more stable, and it is usually added to food to prolong its shelf life and improve its taste. However, such fats are often encountered in our daily life, such as margarine on bread in breakfast shops, or creamer in tea and coffee, and oil added in popcorn, all of which may be trans fats. In addition, trans fats have been proved to increase the risk of heart disease. Excessive intake will increase bad cholesterol (LDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and decrease good cholesterol (HDL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Therefore, according to the relevant regulations issued by the Ministry of Health, from July 2065438 to July 2008, incomplete hydrogenated oil should not be used in all manufactured foods.
Avocado is the source of monounsaturated fat MUFA, which helps to reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL). 3. Monounsaturated fat
Monounsaturated fat (MUFA) is also called good dietary fat. However, monounsaturated fatty acids are non-essential fatty acids that can be synthesized in vivo, such as omega-9 series fatty acids. Common fatty acids include palm oil, while vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, nuts and avocados all contain relatively more such fatty acids. It is mainly helpful to reduce the cholesterol carried by low density lipoprotein (LDL) and increase the cholesterol carried by high density lipoprotein (HDL). Some studies believe that MUFA can improve the fluidity of biofilm, and polyunsaturated fat can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease more than monounsaturated fat, but it also increases the risk of lipid peroxidation. On the other hand, some monounsaturated fats and saturated fats can improve insulin resistance, while polyunsaturated fats can reduce insulin resistance. Nutrition experts suggest choosing foods with high monounsaturated fat content as far as possible, instead of saturated fat and trans fat. For example, avocado oil or olive oil can be used instead of lard when cooking food.
4. Polyunsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fat is one of the two unsaturated fats, which must be taken from food. We often see that these fats include linolenic acid and hypolinolenic acid. In addition, safflower seed oil, millet oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed oil and nuts all contain relatively more of these fats, which will be liquid at room temperature. Modern medicine generally believes that polyunsaturated fat can reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and increase high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), which is relatively healthy than saturated fat but more likely to make cells aging. In addition, this kind of fat is omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid, which is also beneficial to health. Therefore, most nutritionists would suggest getting 3- 10% of daily calories from polyunsaturated fats, or getting a good source from cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna or sardines.
Reduce total fat intake? Many people pay attention to health preservation or weight control, and are confused about whether to reduce total fat. Such a question is not an answer that can be simply added and subtracted. Generally speaking, when we want to reduce the fat content (calories), we must increase the intake of carbohydrates or protein. Therefore, a large reduction in fat content is not very helpful to our health. Instead of haggling over the intake of dietary fat, it is better to choose a good dietary fat to achieve a balance between diet and calories.
Instead of haggling over the intake of dietary fat, it is better to choose good dietary fat to achieve a balance between diet and calories. How much fat should I lose? Many nutritionists suggest that the calories contained in fat in the diet should not exceed 30% of the total calories. Therefore, according to the calories you need to consume every day, it will be different to suggest the grams of fat you need every day. The following fat consumption data can be used as a reference:
If you eat 1600 calories a day, you should consume about 53 grams of fat.
If you eat 2200 calories a day, you should consume about 73 grams of fat.
Eating 2800 calories a day should consume about 93 grams of fat.
In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggested that the daily calorie intake of saturated fat should not exceed 10%, and large intake of trans fats should be avoided.
Conclusion For a long time, the intake of fat will lead to the discussion of eating habits. Although fat has received a lot of negative comments in the past, I believe that after reading the types of dietary fat above, you have a better understanding of dietary fat and can choose a healthier and more suitable fat for your intake. Remember! Eating all kinds of foods, especially protein, carbohydrates and fat, in a timely and proper amount, in order to achieve a calorie balance suitable for the body and maintain a healthy weight, is the real healthy diet.