HEALTH + WELLNESS
For Fat’ s Sake cont...
W ithout any hesitation, let’ s kick the word‘ diet’ to the curb- we’ re not interested in restriction or cutting out food groups here- and we’ re certainly not interested in perpetuating the frustrating message that women especially should be on some sort of diet for the rest of their lives in the perpetual pursuit of unrealistic beauty standards. One upside of social media’ s dominance in day-to-day life is that there is, in equilibrium with the calorie-counters, a growing group of body positive influencers who are cementing the very important notion that not all bodies are created equal- hallelujah.
In support of this quest for balance, it’ s essential to know that no entire food group needs to be( or should be) completely removed from our diets and fat is no exception. In fact, each cell in our extremely competent bodies requires fatty acids to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K, and, let’ s face it, fat adds hugely to the taste of food as any self-respecting cheeseboard fan will testify. It’ s also an important energy source that’ s vital for supporting our natural growth, keeping skin healthy and taut, protecting our vision, boosting our essential immune functions and helping our brains to function well, too. Evidently, fat is a pretty big deal and we need to eat a healthy balance of naturally occurring fats to bolster these benefits.
So, how much fat is the right amount of fat? Fats should not take up more than 35 % of one’ s daily calorie intake, which might sound like a lot, but- before you head to the chip shop to celebrate with a battered sausage- fat is very high in calories. 100g of butter, for example( for visuals, the small singleuse packs that cafes and restaurants use amount to 10g each) weighs in at 717 calories, which is already a third of the average female’ s recommended daily calorie intake of 2,000( men’ s is higher at 2,500). Annoyingly,‘ good’ fats don’ t contain any fewer calories than‘ bad’ fats either, so substituting a‘ healthy’ olive oilbased spread for butter won’ t shave off any excess pounds and will likely be laden with colourants and other undesirable additives that don’ t do our health any favours.
There is a lot more to fat than calories, however, so knowing your trans fats from your monounsaturates is one of the best things you can do, both to understand that fat is not the enemy and to boost your overall health.
SATURATED FAT(‘ BAD’ FATS) Largely animal-based, this is the most traditional source of fat and includes the fat found in meats, butter, cheese and cream, as well as that found in all of the tasty food that we know we should limit but that can be very hard to resist like cakes, biscuits and pastries. Less obvious are products including pasta sauces, packet sauce mixes, pre-frozen roast vegetables( often originally roasted in oil) and chocolate bars, a lot of which are packed with palm oil these days. Guidelines state that women shouldn’ t exceed 20g
130 • www. insidekent. co. uk of saturated fat per day and men 30g, and, although saturated fat makes up the foundation of our cell membranes, increases levels of HDL cholesterol( the good cholesterol), reduces the risk of stroke and boosts brain health, it’ s stereotyped as bad fat because too much of it contributes to hardening and narrowing of the arteries, so moderation is absolutely key.
UNSATURATED FATS(‘ GOOD’ FATS) There are two main kinds of unsaturated fats – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Believed to lower cholesterol and help reduce the risk of heart disease, monounsaturated fats come mainly from the oleic acid found in nuts, avocados, rapeseed and olive oils. Polyunsaturates meanwhile are essential fatty acids that contain the richest sources of Omega-3 and Omega-6, which are predominantly found in fish oil, sunflower and corn oils, coldpressed, unfiltered organic oils such as flax and rapeseed, as well as products made from these oils. Both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats provide key fatty acids for healthy skin and body cell development, and polyunsaturated fats have also been shown to help reduce the‘ bad’ cholesterol caused by saturated fat.
TRANS FATTY ACIDS( TFAS) TFAs are a byproduct of hydrogenated vegetable oil and technically monounsaturates, but have been proven to be dangerous to health. In fact, Denmark was the first country to cut them out completely stating that there’ s no such thing as a‘ safe limit’ where TFAs are concerned. Switzerland and Austria have since followed and the World Health Organization( WHO) has publicly recognised Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Thailand for their progress in eliminating industrially produced trans fatty acids( iTFA) from their food supplies, awarding them certificates for demonstrating bestpractice policies and effective monitoring and enforcement systems.
Originally created in 1903, when an American chemist worked out that by boiling cottonseed oil to 260 ° C he could make it solidify, TFAs were originally the stuff of cheap candles. Proctor & Gamble, however, then spotted the potential for food and bought the patent in 1909, soon launching Crisco shortening in the US- a‘ wonder food’ that contained no animal fat, didn’ t soak up other flavours and had a great shelf life.
It wasn’ t until the 1970s that researchers discovered how damaging TFAs are in that they do not just lower your good cholesterol level, but they simultaneously raise the bad. The most important research on the topic began in the US in 1976 and ran for 13 years, concluding that just a 2 % increase in TFA calories causes a 23 % increased risk of heart disease. This means that in terms of heart health specifically, eating 25g of TFA is equivalent to eating an entire 227g block of butter; something like a take-away pie from the chip shop can easily contain 15g of TFA, so, as tasty as it is, it’ s vital to be mindful of what you’ re eating, especially as you get older.
Today, a voluntary code has drastically reduced the amount of trans fat in supermarket own-brand products, but be sure to look out for hydrogenated vegetable oil on the ingredients lists of familiar brand names- you will still find it in cakes and chocolate, instant hot drinks, ready-bake cake mixes and, most commonly, where it’ s unidentified. The main culprit? Takeaway food and processed foods, especially anything that has been deep-fried.
Our Victorian ancestors it seems had a point: where fat is concerned, stick to natural sources and just watch your quantities. There really is nothing wrong with butter- as long as you spread it thinly.