The misunderstood fat

I’m sure whenever you hear the word fat you immediately think of something that gets you… well… fat. There’s no surprise that a lot of people avoid it. When they buy something, they reject a product that has lots of fats but are happy with the ones that are “fat free” and filled with sugars. In recent years, research showed not only that fat is helpful but also that it is a key component to your general health.

      Fat is made of groups of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Every dietary fat is consisted from 3 fatty acids stuck to a glycerol backbone (you can think of the letter E). Variety is usually achieved by the length of this chain and the number of double bonds. Yes you’ve heard right, these are the bonds that you’ve learned about in the chemistry class. To keep things simple, if there are double bonds, there is space within the molecule and therefore it can combine with other elements. 
Depending on the number of double bonds we can have:

-              Saturated fats. There are no double bonds. This kind of fat is usually hard and white, for example the white parts of a piece of meat. You’ll find lots of saturated fats in chocolate, milk and cheese. This fat is to be avoided because of it’s influence on cholesterol levels.

-              Unsaturated fats. There are double bonds, which means that there is space in the molecule and can combine with oxygen which generally makes it rancid. These fats are usually liquid at room temperature (ex. corn oil, sunflower oil etc). Now if we have only one double bond we have ourselves a monounsaturated fat which is also liquid at normal temperature but can get thick in the refrigerator (olive oil, peanut oil etc). With 2 or more double bonds we have… you guessed it, a polyunsaturated fat. The more unsaturated a fat is, the lower the melting point it has.

Just like essential amino acids there are 2 fatty acids that our body can’t produce on its own: linoleic acid (Omega-6) and alpha-linoleic acid (Omega-3). Omega 3 is a highly unsaturated fat. The number 3 comes from the position of the first double bond in the whole chain. This fat is needed for the production of hormone like compounds and is anti-inflammatory. On the other hand omega 6 acts the opposite way which means it IS inflammatory. This kind of fat tends to be over used while the omega 3 component lacks in most diets. The best way to get Omega-3 in your diet is by eating cold water fish: mackerel, sardines, salmon or herring. Why do these fish have these fats? Remember that omega-3 is a highly unsaturated fat which means that it remains liquid even at low temperature. If you don’t like eating fish or you’re afraid of possible mercury poisoning I strongly suggest getting an Omega-3 supplement.

There’s just one more term that we haven’t discussed: trans-fats. I’m sure everyone knows that these are bad for you. Trans-fats are usually unsaturated vegetable oils that manufacturers try to make more solid. Why? Because they want to avoid the oxidation which makes food rancid… in other words food lasts longer in the shelves of the supermarket. What they do is blow hydrogen gas at the unsaturated fat. Partly hydrogenated is the most common thing to see on the label and you can find it everywhere! Research show that heart disease risk associated with trans-fats exceeds even the risk caused by saturated fats.

FUNCTIONS OF FAT:

-          Great energy provider. It is the most calorie dens nutrient with 9 calories / gram which means that you can pack your meal in a small bag. Be careful though to not be fooled by the size. Extra calories will always be stored as fat in the form of triglycerides.

-          protects vital organs and thermal insulation

-          serves as a vitamin carrier(transports fat soluble vitamins from gut to blood)

-          slows digestion

-          necessary for production of many regulatory hormones

-          has an important role in brain development

-          Immunity, anti-aging, and cholesterol reduction

-          Omega-3 blocks fat storage, is anti-catabolic and anti-inflammatory.

-          Improve insulin sensitivity, increases fat burning.

SOURCES:

Monounsaturated	olive oils, peanut oils
Polyunsaturated	flax oils, corn oils, soy beans, almonds, nuts
Omega-3	flax, hemp, cold water fish
Omega-6	sunflower, safflower, grape seed oils

If you still think that fat doesn't have a place in your diet, remember, you have to eat fat to loose fat...

Posted in: Macronutrients