Healthy fats are important for your brain and body – which ones are “essential fats”?
Fat has had a hard time over the years. We’ve been told to eat loads of it, and avoid it completely. It’s been demonised and downplayed. So what’s the truth about dietary fat, and why is essential fat so important?
Is fat good or bad for you?
Like so many health and nutrition questions, the answer to this is “it depends”. It’s important to get some dietary fat. Fat is a rich source of energy, it helps some vitamins get into the bloodstream, and it supports healthy hormones, brains, and more.
There are lots of different types of dietary fat, and if we drastically limit fat intake we are likely to cut right back on good fats. So a better question is not “is fat good or bad”, but “which types of fat should I eat”?
Different types of dietary fats
Avoid trans fats
First let’s look at the fats you definitely should avoid – trans fats. Trans fats are hydrogenated to turn oils into solids that won’t go off. They have no known health benefits and have in fact been banned in the USA. No such ban exists in the UK, but most supermarkets and fast food chains signed a voluntary agreement in 2012 to stop using artificial trans fats.
Limit saturated fats
Saturated fats aren’t quite as bad for you, but they still have very little to commend them. These fats are in red meat, bacon, whole milk, cheese, coconut oil and lots of baked goods. Cut back and limit your intake.
Mono- and poly-unsaturated fats
These two categories of fats refer to healthy fats that are liquid at room temperature. Think olive oil, and other oils as well as avocados, seeds and nuts. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats should make up the majority of your fat-source foods.
Essential fatty acids
Polyunsaturated fats are either omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are – as the name suggests – essential to good health. The body can’t make them from anything else, so you need to get them through food or supplementation.
What are essential fats?
The most important essential fats (EFAs) are omega-3 fatty acids which contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
The best dietary source of ALA is plant oils like flaxseed, soybean, and canola oils, and the best sources of DHA and EPA are oily fish and other seafood.
How much fat should you eat?
We have come a long way from eating zero-fat diets – and your body and brain are grateful for that! Recommendations on healthy fat intake vary, but this 2017 paper published in the BMC Nutrition Journal advises a minimum of 20% total daily calories from healthy fats:
“The minimum of 20% is to ensure adequate consumption of total energy, essential fatty acids, and fat-soluble vitamins and prevent atherogenic dyslipidemia (low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high triglyceride-rich lipoproteins) which occurs with low-fat, high carbohydrate diets and increases risk of coronary heart disease.” (1)
Remember that fats carry 9 kcals per gram (compared to 4 kcals per gram for both protein and carbohydrates), so do your calculations accordingly. Email me if you’d like help with working this out.
Benefits of essential fats in your diet
When you reduce your intake of unhealthy fats and prioritise healthy, essential omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, you will tap into a huge number of health benefits. The Journal of Food Science Technology wrote in 2014:
“There is a strong need for dietary supplementation of ω-3 fatty acids for reducing risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality… Omega-3 fatty acids may have beneficial effects on heart health and potentially other disease conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and neurological disorders. Anti-inflammatory effects of ω-3 fatty acids can also be used in management of inflammatory associated diseases.” (2)
Here are 10 compelling reasons to eat an adequate amount of healthy fats:
1. Helps the absorption of some vitamins and minerals
2. Essential for building cells and nerves
3. Critical for blood clotting
4. Plays a key role in brain and cognitive health
5. Needed to make hormones that regulate the central nervous system
6. Supports normal immune system health
7. May help prevent or treat heart disease
8. Can reduce blood pressure
9. May lower triglycerides
10. Can reduce the need for corticosteroid medications for rheumatoid arthritis
Good sources of essential fats from food
Vegetable oils
Olive oil
Avocados
Nuts and seeds including chia seeds, flaxseeds and walnuts
Oily fish including salmon, sardines, mackerel
Use a good quality omega-3 supplement if you know you don’t eat at least 3-4 portions of these foods a week.
‘The number one rated Personal Trainer In Henley and Oxfordshire’
References used in todays blog:
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577766/
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4190204/