Fats Explained: Balancing the Good, the Bad, and the Delicious

Fats are an essential part of a balanced diet, but not all fats are created equal. Understanding the different types of fats and their impact on your health is crucial for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Why We Need Some Fat

Our bodies require a small amount of fat to function properly. The right amount of fat helps us:

1.     Regulation of body temperature

2.     Energy production

3.     Growth and development

4.     Brain health & cognitive function

5.     Hormone production

6.     Absorb fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, and E

7.     Protects organs from damage

If we don’t get enough fat in our diet, we can see issues arising with hormone balance, skin, hair, mood & brain function, reproductive health, mood disorders and much more. However, consuming too much fat, especially ‘unhealthy’ fats, can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of developing heart diseases. As always, it is about finding balance.

Types of Fats

In simple terms, there are two main types of fats in our diets: saturated & unsaturated.

Fats have had a bad reputation since the 1950’s when Angel Keys declared that a high saturated fat intake increases the risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association then began recommending low fat, high carb diets which substitutes animal fats for seed oils in food preparation (and especially in ultra-processed foods). This has led to an increase in cholesterol and the introduction of statins (one of the most profitable pharmaceutical drugs of all time).

Saturated fat is not strictly unhealthy. In small amounts, saturated fats are safe & healthy to consume. The problem comes when we eat too much of it. The optimal approach is to get most of your essential dietary fat intake from unsaturated sources and only a small amount from saturated fats. I’ve added some examples of saturated and unsaturated fats below to help you:

Unsaturated fats: found in peanut butter, nuts, olive oil, avocados, oily fish, cold-pressed vegetable oils, and some nuts and seeds

Saturated fats: found in animal produce such as meats, fish, cheese, milk, butter and coconut oil

Trans Fats

Trans fats are simply when a natural fat (fats found in nature/food) are damaged either by high temperatures or through industrial processing. Hydrogenation is the process of adding a hydrogen molecule to a natural fat to give it certain properties such as becoming solid at room temperature. A good example of this is a natural seed oil that is made into margarine via hydrogenation. There are many other benefits for food companies to utilise trans fats, such as their long shelf life & low cost. Diabetes UK also warn against trans fats on their website.

Trans fats: found in fried foods, UPF, snacks, and margarines made with hydrogenated oils, refined seed oils, baked goods, ice-cream, bread, donuts, cakes, confectionary and much more.

Trans fats are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, insulin resistance & diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, liver dysfunction and other chronic diseases. Trans fats stiffen our cell membranes making it difficult for them to function normally and limiting how effectively nutrients can get in and waste can get out. This is significant when we are made of entirely of cells and they’re being damaged/not working effectively!

My advice is to limit the amount of trans fats in your diet as much as possible and aim to get your essential fat intake from the unsaturated sources listed above. The best way to do this is to focus on a wholefood diet and reducing our intake of UPF’s. And remember to ditch the zero-calorie sprays and vegetable oils and cook with either coconut oil, butter, ghee or extra virgin olive oil.

Top tip: trans fats are often hidden in ingredients lists. Look out for these culprits on your food labels: partially hydrogenated oils or fats, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, shortening, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, partially hydrogenated coconut or palm kernel oil and hydrogenated soybean. These are all trans fats.

Trans fats are banned in Denmark, Austria & Switzerland (some of the healthiest nations around!)

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