Still to this day, fat is seen as the enemy. Low-fat diets are still as popular as ever, and, interestingly, the rise of obesity and poor health in general is on the rise. Low fat generally
means high sugar. Surely that can’t be healthy?
Why are low-fat diets still popular?
Let's talk calories for a few seconds here:
Protein = 4 calories/g
Carbs = 4 calories/g
Fats = 9 calories/g
Looking at these numbers you can see why, from a caloric perspective/weight loss perspective, you would opt to remove fat and eat more protein and carbs – they have fewer calories per serving meaning that you can eat more of these foods throughout the day.
The negative side of this is that while keeping protein consumption at the right level, without the fats, you fill your mouth with carbohydrates.
There's no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, however, there are such things as essential amino acids (proteins) and essential fatty acids (fats). This means that we cannot make these in our bodies, we must consume them. So, if we are not eating fats, we are not getting any essential fatty acids, which are essential to life (hence the name). Making sense so far?
Why do we need fats?
As mentioned above, fats are essential to life. They are vital for many bodily processes including digestion, transport, conversion and energy extraction. Fat is
our body's primary source of stored energy, containing up to 3x the amount of energy provided by glucose (carbohydrates) which the brain needs in order to continue working.
Top 5 reasons for increasing fats:
1. Fat regulates our appetite – the more we consume, the fuller we feel
2. Fat provides more energy than carbohydrates and will last longer
3. Fat has a very low insulin response
4. Fat is essential for the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K
5. Fat provides some of the raw material required for all sex hormones
Fats you want to consume in your diet:
• Saturated fats – butter, coconut oil, red meat, eggs
• Mono-unsaturated fats – nuts, nut butters, extra virgin olive oil, avocadoes
• Poly-unsaturated fats – fish oil flax seed, oily fish, walnuts
Here’s a list to make it simple – consume one of these at every meal:
• Coconut oil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Unsalted, organic butter
• Ghee
• Animal meats (grass-fed)
• Avocadoes
• Avocado oil
• Nuts
Fats you want to avoid in your diet:
All forms of trans fats – anything deep fried or cooked in oil at a high temperature, vegetable/seed oils, pasties, cakes, pies, chips, etc.
Fats are essential. Don't avoid them. Your health and your performance in and out of the gym will benefit greatly from this.