Healthy and unhealthy fats

The basis of a proper diet is to understand the difference between harmful and healthy fats, how they affect the human body, how much animal fats are really harmful to health.

Content

  • 1 Why use fats in your diet "> 2 Unsaturated and saturated fats
  • 3 What fats are healthy?
  • 4 Omega-3s, -6 and -9
  • 5 Omega-3 to Omega-6 Ratio
  • 6 Animal fat - benefit or harm?
  • 7 Harmful and healthy fats
  • 8 Conclusion
  • 9 Video Review

Why eat fats when dieting?

Minimizing or rejecting fats is a major mistake made by many people who start dieting. Butter is replaced with margarine, whole milk - skim. Instead of fried, begin to eat steam food. This is due to the connection that a person finds for himself between consumed with food and body fat.

This tactic is wrong. Fat-free products are often more harmful than their counterparts. They are free of fat but contain simple carbohydrates. A balanced and healthy diet implies the mandatory presence of fats, but only the right ones. It is impossible to exclude this important element from the diet.

Unsaturated and saturated fats

Fatty acids, which are fats, differ in the number of carbon atoms. Each fat of vegetable or animal origin is a mixture of dozens of fatty acids, the most common of which, to one degree or another, are five to seven.

The classification of fats, as a rule, is not related to the number of carbon atoms. It is most often due to the "saturation" of hydrogen atoms, that is, the absence or presence of free bonds. Trans fats include fatty acids with a chemically identical but different geometrical formula.

What fats are healthy?

The value of fatty acids is determined by how they are absorbed and digested. Fats, the number of carbon atoms in which does not exceed 15, are absorbed by the body from the intestines, and are spent on metabolic processes. They make up a quarter of cow's milk, eighty percent of coconut oil.

Coconut fat is considered a dietary fat because it is difficult to convert to body fat. This quality makes palm refined oil, from which margarine is produced, quite dangerous. It is trans fat, having a low amount of carbon oils, immediately enters the bloodstream, which makes it unhealthy.

Omega-3, -6 and -9

They are fatty acids having 18 carbon atoms, present in any form of oil and fat, prevailing over other substances. Depending on the position of the double chain in the structure, they are Omega-3, -6 or -9.

The latter are considered neutral, take second place in the body after omega-6. They are present in olive, corn, and avocado oils, yolks, and beef tallow.

Omega-3 to Omega-6 Ratio

The balance of these two fatty acids is of utmost importance. Omega-3 is not synthesized in the body, but is necessary for maintaining the immune system, the functioning of the cerebral cortex, and the implementation of metabolic processes. It is these fatty acids that are considered the most beneficial. Their positive effect on the body is reduced to a minimum in the presence of omega-6.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the concentration of Omega-3 in food is minimal. Omega-6 accounts for half, and sometimes even slightly more, of corn and vegetable oils. Therefore, as a result of cooking, their ratio shifts, which leads to metabolic disturbance.

Animal fat - benefit or harm ">

Saturated animal fat is called palmitic acid. It contains 16 carbon atoms. Its excess in the diet provokes the development of many pathological conditions. Palmitic acid accounts for 25-30% of the total fat in butter, about 20-25% of egg yolk and beef fat.

Harmful and healthy fats

Corn and sunflower oils are dangerous for health, the fatty profile of which is 50-60 percent represented by Omega-6. Depending on what the animal is fed under industrial conditions, these fatty acids may be present in chicken and beef.

Olive and avocado oil is more healthy than analogues from sunflower and corn, as it contains Omega-9. It is best to fry food in coconut oil, which tolerates high temperatures well. Saturated fats become truly dangerous animals when abused and unbalanced.

Conclusion

Oils and fats are important for metabolic processes and health. And to avoid numerous problems, you need to maintain a balance in the diet, be able to recognize the fat profile of the source of fat.

Video review

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