Is Fat Good or Is Fat Bad?

Did you know that eating the RIGHT fats and oils improves :

Energy levels
Fat loss
Cardiovascular health
Immune function
Longevity
Athletic performance
Plus much more……!

So What’s The Big Deal with Fats?

In one of my client consultations Rachel was struggling with the notion that eating “fats” in her diet will help her to lose weight and to train better.

“I especially had issues with eating good fats which with Sonia’s help in making me understand, I now eat regularly and have been converted from eating anything that said low fat or diet”

Why is it best NOT to go with Low fat or "Diet" foods?

Please do not associate the words “Low fat” with health or healthy foods. By this I don’t mean naturally low fat nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, lean meats and fish etc BUT foods such as the following:

Low fat sweetened breakfast cereal
Low fat flavoured yoghurts
Low fat salad dressings
Reduced fat peanut butter
Low fat muffins
Low fat cereal bars

Foods like the above are highly processed. Yes they may be “low fat” but to stop them from tasting bland there is often also lots of sugar, possibly sweeteners and other chemical ridden fillers added to them. This is giving your body extra unnecessary jobs to do in processing the chemicals and not giving you the desired effect!

Research has shown us that excessive amounts of sugar have been linked to increased risk of obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and other health problems (1)

Having foods that are higher in sugar may also lead to the “sugar addiction” perpetual cycle as shown below. Note what happens in No 3 – FAT STORAGE!….

Image sourced from https://drjockers.com/6-best-ways-test-blood-sugar-levels/

The Importance of Healthy Fats

Our body needs essential fats for so many functions such as producing energy, reducing inflammation, cardiovascular health, cognitive function, promoting healthy cholesterol levels and glucose metabolism. (2)

Not only that, they are absolutely critical in absorbing fat soluble vitamins A, D. E and K. (3)

So Which Fats Then?

It is best to choose unsaturated fats – which come in two forms:

Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated fats are healthy fats which are mostly found in nuts and high fat fruits such as avocados and olives.

Polyunsaturated fats are essential fats – which the body can not produce by itself and so needs food sources to get them.

There are 2 types of polyunsaturated fats – omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. (4)

Omega 3’s and 6’s play important roles in the structure of our cells, provide us with energy, playing important functions in our cardiovascular, pulmonary, immune and endocrine systems.

Healthy fats are included in these foods

Avocados
Cheese
Eggs
Fatty fish
Nuts & Seed butter
Chia seeds

Extra virgin olive oil
Coconuts & coconut oil
Full fat yoghurt
Dark chocolate
Flax seeds
Olives

(To look into greater details about foods and fats take a look at our article “foods with healthy fats“)

Try to avoid these - TRANS FATS

Always try to avoid trans fats (known as partially hydrogenated oils).

These have been processed, changed in chemical structure, seen to raise your “bad” cholesterol, lower your “good” cholesterol and generally just plays havoc with your body if eaten to excess.

Even just 2% of calories per day from trans fats can increase the risk of heart disease by 23%! (5)