Not enough fat in your diet and your blood sugar levels go wild! You gain increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, bipolar energy levels, dried out skin, and lack of focus. Too many fats, and you risk heart attacks, develop poor digestion, and of course… get fat and adopt all the issues associated with that. How much fat should we consume, and how do we consume the good fats and avoid the bad fats? Healthy Couch Potatoes, let’s learn to have a healthy intake of fats!
How to get more good fats and avoid the bad fats
1) Trans-Fat
Most scientific articles will make a blanket statement to simply avoid all trans-fats- and for good reason! Most trans-fats are artificially created via the process of hydrogenation (adding hydrogen to other molecules). Hydrogenation is applied to liquid fats to make them solid. This is done in order to increase the shelf life of of foods and oils and their consistencies. In these cases, all trans fat seems to do for your health is raise your bad cholesterol (Low-density lipoprotein or LDL) and lower your good cholesterol (High-density lipoprotein or HDL). Note that some trans-fats naturally occur in beef and dairy. Studies are being done to show that these can have the opposite effect and help with cholesterol. I do not recommend using this as an excuse to eat said foods in abundance, however!
We can avoid trans-fat by steering clear of fried fast foods. Many of the oils used are hydrogenated so they can be used for longer period of time to cook food before being replaced. Trans fats are found in solid margarine, baked desserts, and frozen dinners at the grocery store. This article by Mayo Clinic goes a bit more in-depth, if you’d like to read more into this. My advice is to look at nutrition labels and purchase butter instead of margarine if possible.
2) Saturated Fat
Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature, too. Scientists generally agree that too much of it may increase your LDL levels, and it definitely leads to inflammation.
Saturated fats are most commonly found in red meat, dairy products, baked goods, and tropical oils. To stay healthy, consider alternatives to red meat such as poultry and fish and simply stay conscious of the amount of dairy you consume. One thing I love doing to circumvent this is looking up vegan substitutes to particular dairy products. I only do it sometimes when I know I’ve gone overboard on the cheese, but it is a very easy way to stay healthy without giving up your favorite dishes.
3) Unsaturated Fat
Finally, we can talk about the healthy fats! They are liquid at room temperature, and help lower cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Amongst unsaturated fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. They both serve the same basic purposes, so to spare you from a very in-depth conversation, just make sure to consume both in your diet.
Monounsaturated fats are mostly found in nuts, olives, and avocados. If you aren’t a fan of those, then consider what I do: cook with extra virgin olive oil very often. It is a very easy cooking hack to just add more extra virgin olive oil to whatever I am cooking if I need more fat in my diet (just be careful not to go overboard or you will consume a ton of calories without realizing it). I’m not a fan of peanut butter, but all nut butters are excellent options as well.
Polyunsaturated fats come mostly from plants. Think Safflower, sunflower, corn, and soybean (their oils also suffice). I would be extremely remiss not to mention omega 3 fatty acids here- possibly the most important fats you can consume! These polyunsaturated fats come from cold-water fish, hence why salmon and tuna are such prized meats by dieticians and nutritionists. For you vegan readers, you will be glad to hear that flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts have also been blessed with omega 3s. DO NOT skip out on your omega 3s! They lower inflammation, lower blood pressure, reduce triglycerides (fat in your blood), and stop the buildup of plaque. I highly recommend this article to learn more about polyunsaturated fats if you are interested.
How Much Fats Should We Consume to stay healthy?
Your overall fat intake goal will change depending on the goal of your diet, but I will provide some general guidelines. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends keeping fat to 25-30% of your daily caloric intake. Keep in mind that one gram of fat is 9 calories, while one gram of protein or one gram of carbs is 4 calories. If you have a 2,000 calorie diet, then 500-600 calories should come from fats. This roughly means you should consume anywhere between 55-70 grams of fat per day.
Don’t go too low with your fats!
Even if you have a low caloric intake, going below 40 grams of fat per day could be very detrimental to your health and affect your brain functions and you should consult a doctor before attempting something like that in your diet. Conversely, there may not be much benefit at all of going above 70 grams of fat per day if you have a high caloric intake, unless you are trying to really gain weight or increase your body fat percentage.
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans also recommends not passing 10% of your caloric intake with saturated fats. If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, then you should limit yourself to 7% or even less.
Let’s go drown ourselves in a tasteful, responsible amount of extra virgin olive oil, aspiring Healthy Couch Potatoes!
Afterthought
By the way, if are taking the time to study your fats, you’re probably very curious about the carbs in your diet. Are you staying healthy with your carbs, as well? Take a look at my article about carbohydrates here!
