Is Fat Necessary?

Fat is often thought of negatively in a diet, but your body could not survive without it. For one thing, it’s a valuable source of energy, but more importantly, we also need fat to absorb certain vitamins that are important for your health – such as A, D, E and K.

Fat is made up of individual ‘building blocks’ which are the fatty acids. Some of these are essential, in that they have vital functions in your body, and you can only get them from your diet, as your body cannot synthesise them. These essential fatty acids include omega-3 and omega-6, which are vitally important as they are used to make the outer layer (membrane) of the cells in your body, and are also involved in the production of substances that control the chemical reactions inside these cells.

Although it is undeniable that you need some fat in your diet, it is all too obvious what happens if we eat too much. Fat is the richest form of energy that we consume, which means it is very easy to eat more than we can burn off through activity, leading inevitably to weight gain. The rise in obesity levels is often blamed solely on eating too much fatty food, but it is a bit more complicated than that. The average intake of fat in the UK is not far off the recommended level, and as a population, people are eating less fat today than 20 years ago; so why is the population getting fatter, why are we not at our ideal weight? Fat is obviously not the main culprit.

The problem in our diets is not the total amount of fat we eat, but the types of fat. Naturally occurring fats can be classified as either saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, depending on the chemical structure of the fatty acids they contain. There are also trans-fats – which are produced artificially, turning a source of fat, such as vegetable oil, that is liquid at room temperature, into one that solidifies. Unfortunately, these trans-fats make excellent ingredients and greatly enhance the taste and texture of processed foods, but are disastrous for our bodies.

Saturated and trans-fats are the ‘baddies’ – the ones that are harmful to our health, by increasing cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease. Trans-fats are thought to be particularly unhealthy as they raise the levels of bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein) while lowering the good variety (high-density lipoprotein). Since their harmful effects have been exposed, the food industry in the UK has been pro-active towards cutting these fats out of processed foods; so fortunately, most of us are not consuming large quantities anymore, just dealing with the after affects. Nowadays it is saturated fats that are the main cause of problems because we are eat far too much, about 13 percent of people’s energy intake currently comes from saturated fats, with the recommended level being 11.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats meanwhile, are actually good for you, and most people don’t eat enough of them. Unsaturated fats help to lower cholesterol and also provide you with the essential fatty acids that your body needs. Omega-3 fatty acids that come from fish are thought to have specific benefits in helping to protect against coronary heart disease; and there is evidence to suggest numerous other health benefits as well.

So, what should we avoid?

Foods high in saturated fats include:

• fatty meat and meat products
• dairy products – such as butter, cheese and cream
• pastries
• cakes and biscuits
• chocolate
• coconut oil and palm oil

The average man should have no more than 30g of saturated fat a day, and the average woman no more than 20g.

Foods to look for:

Good sources of unsaturated fats include:

• Sunflower, rapeseed, olive and vegetable oils, and spreads made from these oils (so long as they have not been hydrogenated (trans-fats), not to be confused with emulsified, combined with water.)
• avocados
• nuts and seeds
• oily fish, such as mackerel, salmon or trout – these are a particularly good source of omega-3

So, yes, too much fat in a diet where it is not being burned off will lead to an increase in weight, but it is in fact sugar, in its numerous guises, that is really responsible for high levels of obesity. For a healthy diet, all most of us need to do is reduce our saturated fat intake, while some of us would actually benefit from an increase in unsaturated fats. As with most things, moderation is essential to maintain your ideal weight.

For more information on weight loss in South Wales contact Debbie Saunders, weight loss counsellor.