Healthy Eating for You: Examples of healthy fats

Fat is an essential part of a person’s diet, necessary to the health of people and a principal source of energy for the body. 

Dietary fats supply the fatty acids necessary for many of the body’s chemical activities, including growth in children, and provide the membrane linings of cells. Fats carry the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats lend flavour, texture and aroma to food, and they satisfy hunger.

Fat is not bad for the body. Moderate amounts of body fat, 18-24 per cent for women and 15-18 per cent for men is consistent with good health. Stored fats regulate body temperature, provide a protective cushion for organs and assist with hormone production and regulation.

The fat people consume come from many sources, both visible and invisible. Visible fats are ingredients such as sunflower oil or olive oil. Invisible fats are an integral part of foods, including the fat found in meat, nuts, fish or cheese. 

All fats consist of two types of fatty acids, which are distinguished by their chemical structure and the relative amount of hydrogen they contain. Saturated fats are loaded with all the hydrogen they can take whereas unsaturated fats contain less than the maximum amount of hydrogen. Unsaturated fats can further be divided into two categories, namely monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.

 Fats naturally found in in foods are made of mixtures of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Fats containing mainly saturated fatty acids are found in animal foods such as beef or lamb, butter and other dairy products. These are not healthy fats.

Healthy fats are fats containing polyunsaturated fatty acids and include sunflower, cottonseed and maize oils. Exceptions here are poultry and fish oils, which come from animal sources but are high in unsaturated fat whilst coconut oil, is high in saturated fatty acids. Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which is a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. So it would seem that coconut oil would be bad news for our hearts. But what's interesting about coconut oil is that it also gives "good" HDL cholesterol a boost. Fat in the diet, whether it's saturated or unsaturated, tends to nudge HDL levels up, but coconut oil seems to be especially potent at doing so. Nuts, olives and avocados are the major sources of monounsaturated fatty acids, and are also healthy.

The dietary role of fats is not simple. Although a moderate amount of fat is needed for everyone’s diet, many people go overboard. Eating too much fat, and unhealthy fat for this matter, is normally linked to two big health problems; obesity and cardiovascular disease. 

Essential fatty acids as needed by the body are polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic acids but it is these fats that are mostly neglected.

Studies have indicated that diets high in polyunsaturated fat lower the blood cholesterol level compared to diets containing large amounts of saturated fats.

The body’s fat intake can be regulated by cutting down on visible fats, shunning fried foods and choosing lean forms of meat and fat-free or low-fat dairy products.

Danie