By Keri Strachan
Dietary fats are typically labelled the "baddies". Most people restrict these dietary components when trying to lose weight or when trying to be more healthy. More and more nutrition experts are realising how inaccurate this is, and how important fats are in our diets.
The key is getting the right amount of the right types of fats. Getting this right can lead to optimal cell-functioning, as well as protection against heart disease, insulin resistance and diabetes, and improved weight control.
Simply put, there are good fats and bad fats.
Unsaturated fats: These are the good ones and saturated fats and trans fatty acids the bad ones. Generally, saturated fat is found in animal products, although there are some plant sources such as coconut. Trans fats are mostly artificial fats produced through the hydrogenation process applied to liquid vegetable oil to make it solid at room temperature.
Many baked products, pies, pastries, crisps and fried foods are common sources. Importantly, trans fats are more detrimental to health than saturated fats. Unsaturated fats can be further divided into monounsaturated fats (mufa), eg olive oil, avocado, and polyunsaturated fats (pufa), includes omega 3 - walnuts, oily fish, linseed; and omega 6 - sunflower oil, corn oil.
Monounsaturated (mufa) fat: This is particularly beneficial, with a sufficient intake contributing to lowered LDL cholesterol levels, increased insulin sensitivity and is generally cardio-protective.
The trick is to use mufa sources of fats instead of saturated or trans fatty acids. Your total fat intake must be kept to below 30% of total energy, eating more than this, even of the healthy types, will cause weight-gain. Weight-gain will put extra strain on your heart and other organs, such as your pancreas (produces insulin), and it also makes moving around and being active more difficult.
Fats are very calory dense, unlike carbohydrates and protein dietary constituents, so portion control is crucial to maintain this delicate balance. Very small amounts should be added to meals, and fats already present in foods should be accounted for to avoid high-fat meals, particularly when meals inherently contain saturated fats, eg meals containing red meat.
So, to get the right balance of fats you need to consider the type of fat and the amount.
The following recommendations will help achieve this:
Include oily fish two to three times a week:
- Contributes to healthy fish oils (omega 3 fats) in your diet and displaces the saturated fats from meats
- Prepare fish using low-fat methods (grilled, steamed, poached, baked).
- Canned tuna, salmon, sardines and mackerel (in water or tomato sauce, not oil) are all convenient options.
- Or include flaxseed/linseed, soya bean, canola/rapeseed oil, or walnuts as alternative sources of omega 3 fats.
Use unsaturated fats sparingly to cook with:
- Olive and canola oil are particularly good choices because of their high monounsaturated fat content
- Other good choices include sunflower, corn, safflower and other polyunsaturated vegetable oils.
- Aim to use no less than one to two teaspoons per person.
Nuts and peanut butter:
- One small serving of nuts (1 tablespoon = 15ml) or peanut butter (two teaspoons) five times a week is known to reduce the risk of heart disease by 50%.
- The portion must be within your calorie budget, ie replacing another fat.
- Include two to three walnuts chopped up into in your porridge, spread two teaspoons of peanut butter on a ProVita, sprinkle sliced almonds in your salad, snack on a tablespoon of mixed nuts and two to three pieces of dried fruit.
Avocado pear:
- Mash a quarter of a large avocado and use instead of margarine on your sandwich.
- Slice a quarter of a large avocado over your salad rather than drizzling with salad dressing.
It must be considered a fat when including into your diet
Know which foods are fats and only use one per meal:
- If meat or chicken is used in a meal avoid cheese or creamy sauces
- If a salad contains nuts, avoid adding avocado pear, salad dressing or olives as well.
- If a salad is tossed with a dressing, avoid added foods like feta, olives, avocado pear or nuts.
- If the preparation of a meal has used olive oil, be careful not to add any other fat-containing foods to the meal
- Avoid margarine with a peanut butter sandwich.
Keri Strachan is a Hillcrest-based dietician.