Can fats ever be healthy? If so, what are healthy fats? The truth is that fats are a macronutrient: like carbohydrates and proteins, they are essential for promoting optimal health and normal bodily functions. Macronutrients provide calories and nutrients, though they cannot be produced by the body, and must, therefore, be consumed in your diet.
Healthy fats, therefore, are part of a well-balanced diet. Not all fats are healthy. Different types of fats have different potential impacts on your body, and it is important to be discerning when choosing which ones to incorporate into your diet. However, the weight management approach that many people initially think about--removing fats completely from your diet--is not an effective, healthy, or sustainable way to promote your general wellbeing. In this guides, we’ll explore the different kinds of fats and how to choose the right ones for you.
“Good” Fats vs. Unhealthy Fats
Fats are organic compounds scientifically known as lipids. At the chemical level, all fats share a similar structure: they are composed of a chain of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms. What differentiates fats from one another, however, is the length and shape of the carbon chain, as well as the number of hydrogen atoms connected to the carbon atoms. The differences in structure lead result in major differences in function
There are three main types of fats: unsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats. To better understand the role fat plays in the body, we must first identify what constitutes a healthy fat, and which fats should be avoided.
What is Unsaturated Fat?
Unsaturated fats are the good fats--the healthy fats. They are found in foods that, when consumed in moderate amounts, may prove beneficial to promoting optimal health. Healthy fats typically come from vegetables, nuts, and seeds. They may also be found in certain fish.
Unsaturated fats have fewer hydrogen atoms bonded to their carbon chains. They are distinguishable by the fact that they are liquid at room temperature (i.e. olive oil). There are two types of unsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats
Monounsaturated fats have a single carbon-to-carbon double bond in their chemical structure. Hydrogen atoms cannot bond to the double-bond, and as a result, a monounsaturated fat has two fewer hydrogen atoms than a saturated fat (more on that in a moment).
Some healthy sources of monounsaturated fats include:
Olive oil
Peanut oil
Canola oil
Avocados
Nuts
Sunflower oil
Canola oil
Polyunsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fats have two or more of those double carbon bonds that prevent hydrogen from bonding to those specific carbon atoms. There are two types of polyunsaturated fats:
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-6 fatty acids
The numbers three and six refer to the distance between the first carbon atom in the chain and the first double bond. Each type has potential health benefits. Polyunsaturated fats are essential, meaning that your body cannot produce them; they are necessary, but they must be obtained from food.
Some of the healthiest sources of Omega-3 fatty acids include:
Salmon
Mackerel
Sardines
Flax seeds
Walnuts
Some of the healthiest sources of Omega-6 fatty acids include vegetable oils, such as:
Safflower oil
Sunflower oil
Corn oil
Soybean oil
What is Saturated Fat?
Saturated fats are, you guessed it, saturated with hydrogen atoms. Their carbon chains hold the maximum number of hydrogen atoms.
Saturated fats are fairly common in our diets, though it is wise to consume them in moderation, and to replace them with unsaturated fats whenever possible. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, like the fat on fatty cuts of red meat. Animal products are the primary sources of saturated fats.
Saturated fats are not generally considered healthy, and diets high in saturated fats may lead to various complications like high cholesterol or insulin sensitivity. For those looking to maintain optimal health, it is generally recommended to limit your intake and to replace your sources of fat with unsaturated fats whenever possible.
Sources of saturated fat include:
Red meat
Fatty pork or chicken
Dairy products, such as whole milk, butter, cheese, and shortening
Coconut oil
What is Trans Fat?
Trans fats are the least healthy fats. While trace amounts of trans fats are found in some red meat, they are, by and large, artificial.
Trans fats occur as a result of a process called hydrogenation, where hydrogen is added to vegetable oils (unsaturated fats) to turn them into solids. This process is typically used by mass producers of food products to increase shelf life and prevent foods from going bad quickly.
Sources of trans fats may include baked goods, margarine, frozen products (like pizza), and the oil used by fast food restaurants to fry food. Trans fats are identifiable on food labels as “partially hydrogenated” oils. There are no known health benefits of trans fats and no recommended daily intake. Fortunately, many food manufacturers have phased out the use of trans fats.
The Benefits of Healthy Fats
Fats do play an important role in your body. When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet, what matters is the type of fats you eat, and moderating the amount you take in. There is no recommended daily intake for fats, so you may consider consulting with your doctor or nutritionist to determine what’s right for you.
To learn more about choosing the right unsaturated fats, we recommend checking out the TLS® Health Guide & Journal: a comprehensive guide to creating a healthy lifestyle by eating right, exercising, and improving your mindset.
Fat is a major source of energy for your body. The fat that is accumulated by the body serves as an energy store. As you may remember from our macronutrients guide on carbohydrates, glucose--the sugar derived from digested carbs--is the body’s primary source of energy. During exercise, the body uses glucose for energy, but once it’s burned through the carbohydrates in its system, it burns through its reserve of fat.
Fats are also important for helping the body absorb certain nutrients. Some vitamins are fat soluble, meaning they dissolve in fat, and the presence of fatty tissue may help promote the normal absorption of these vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins include:
Fat is also a component of cell membranes and is necessary for the production of cell membranes. Certain polyunsaturated fats, in reasonable amounts, may also promote heart health.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance in the blood that helps with the production of hormones and vitamin D. Fat and cholesterol travel together through the blood via compounds called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) carry cholesterol and fat from the liver to the rest of the body, and when there are too many of these molecules in the blood, they form deposits in blood vessels. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) promote normal blood flow by scavenging blood vessels and LDLs for cholesterol.
Dietary Supplements to Support the Normal Storage of Body Fat
If you’ve read the TLS® Health Guide & Journal, and are familiar with healthy ways to incorporate fats into your diet as part of your new proactive and active lifestyle, you may be considering dietary supplements that may help support your weight management goals.
TLS® CORE Fat & Carb Inhibitor, for instance, is one such product that promotes healthy weight management. This dietary supplement works to promote your body’s normal sensitivity to leptin--a hormone secreted by fat cells that contributes to the feeling of hunger. Normal leptin sensitivity helps to manage the feeling of hunger and promotes a feeling of fullness.*
TLS® CORE Fat & Carb Inhibitor may also help reduce fat stores in the body. It also inhibits the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream. Remember, carbs that are not burned during exercise are stored as fat. In addition, this product may help maintain normal blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and promote normal insulin activity.*
TLS® Tonalin® Conjugated Linoleic Acid contains a combination of fatty acids extracted from safflower oil may also help to promote the normal storage of fat in the body, and also promotes lean muscle mass. It promotes the utilization of body fat as fuel when you exercise, and helps preserve muscle tissue as you burn fat.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product(s) is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Sources
“Types of Fat.” Harvard School of Public Health. Web. 01 Dec. 2017.
“Cholesterol.” Harvard School of Public Health. Web. 01 Dec. 2017.
“The truth about fats: the good, the bad, and the in-between.” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School. Feb. 2015. Web. 01 Dec. 2017.
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