Macronutrients: Fat
What are macronutrients?
Macronutrients are the nutrients that your body needs in large amounts, which include fat, carbohydrates, and protein. They give you energy and contain the components of food that your body needs to maintain its systems and structures. You need all three macronutrients as part of a healthy diet, so you shouldn't exclude or seriously restrict any of them.
What is fat?
Fat is a fuel source for our bodies and aids in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fat acts like insulation for our bodies and helps protect vital organs. It also supports cell growth and produces important hormones.
What are the types of fats?
Unsaturated Fats
Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. They are considered beneficial fats because they can improve cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, stabilize heart rhythms, and play a number of other beneficial roles. Unsaturated fats are commonly found in plant-based foods, such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds.
There are two types of unsaturated fats: monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated
fats are found in high concentrations in the following foods:
• Olive, peanut, and canola oils
• Avocados
• Nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans
• Seeds like pumpkin and sesame seeds
Polyunsaturated fats are found in high concentrations in the following foods:
• Sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed oils
• Walnuts
• Flax Seeds
• Fish
• Canola oil – Higher in monounsaturated fats but also a good source of polyunsaturated fats.
Omega-3 fats are an important source of polyunsaturated fats. The body cannot make these fats, so they must come from food. A good way to achieve this is by eating fish 2-3 times weekly. The American Heart Association suggests that 8-10% of daily calories should come from polyunsaturated fats. There is evidence that eating more polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat can lower your risk of heart disease.
Saturated Fats
All foods containing fat have a mix of specific types of fats. Even healthy foods like chicken and nuts have small amounts of saturated fats. Saturated fats are mostly found in animal products. However, there are some plant sources, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil, that have high concentrations of saturated fats.
Dietary guidelines recommend getting less than 10% of daily calories from saturated fats. In the United States, the biggest sources of saturated fats in the diet are:
• Pizza and cheese
• Whole and reduced fat milk, butter, and dairy desserts
• Meat products (sausage, beef, bacon, hamburgers)
• Cookies and other grain-based desserts
• A variety of mixed fast-food dishes
It is recommended to cut back on saturated fats by replacing them with good fats, especially polyunsaturated fats. Eating good fats in place of saturated fats lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and improves the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
Trans Fats
Trans fatty acids are made by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst, a process known as hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils makes them more stable and less likely to become rancid. This process also converts the liquid into a solid, which makes them function as margarine and shortening.
They can also withstand repeated heating making them ideal for frying food. Trans fats are also found naturally in small amounts in beef fat and dairy fat.
Trans fats are the worst type of fat because they:
• Raise LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and lower HDL (“good cholesterol”)
• Create inflammation
• Contribute to insulin resistance
• Can have harmful health effects even in small amounts – for each additional 2 percent of calories from trans fat consumed daily, the risk of coronary heart disease increases by 23 percent.
What are the sources of fat?
Food sources of fat include:
• Oils
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Avocados
• Meat, fish, and dairy
What are the general recommendations for fat intake?
It is recommended to aim for 20-35% of your daily caloric intake to come from fats. Of that 20-35%, saturated fat should only come from 10% or less of those calories.
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-are-macronutrients#1
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/types-of-fat/
https://www.nap.edu/read/10490/chapter/10
https://mynutrition.wsu.edu/nutrition-basics#fats
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fats/dietary-fats