8 min read
"I only have low fat yogurt and cheese, 'cuz I'm trying to lose weight."
"That's loaded with fat, I can't eat it, it would go straight to my hips."
Do these sound familiar? That's a rhetorical question, of course they do. Eating fats makes you fat, it's one of those things that everybody repeats that just sounds like an obvious truth, I mean, fat and fat—it's the exact same word, right?
Wrong!
Fat is one of the three essential macronutrients; if you do not eat enough fat you will lose your hair, feel constant fatigue, and develop hormonal problems.
The macronutrient fat has nothing to do with being fat.
In fact, this is arguably one of the most widespread food misconceptions.
Will you get fat if you eat too many foods that are high in fats? Yes, but the key term here isn't "fats", it's "too many"!
If you eat too many foods that are high in carbohydrates, you will get fat.
If you eat too many foods that are high in protein, you will get fat.
Granted, most people aren't eating a dozen eggs and a kilogram of chicken breasts for lunch, so getting fat by going overboard on the protein is unlikely, but it's possible. However, most people do regularly consume large amounts of bread, rice, sweets, etc., so getting fat by eating too many carbohydrates is quite common.
What's the deal then? If you're trying to lose weight, should you cut out carbs instead of fat? If protein is also a risk, maybe just cut out all three of them—ditch the carbs, fat, and protein, and just live on... coffee and cigarettes?
Of course not. The answer is to educate yourself by reading unbiased articles such as this one. Hold your avocados, we're diving in!
What is fat exactly and why do you need it?
Fat is one of the three macronutrients (the other two are carbohydrates and proteins); the "macro" in "macronutrients" means that our bodies need drastically larger amounts of them compared to other nutrients, which are referred to as micronutrients.
Breaking down all the detailed processes involving fatty acids would turn this short article into a biology textbook. Instead, the list below summarizes some of the functions of fat in your body.
Brain structure—More than 60% of your brain is made of fat, making it the fattiest organ in the human body.
Cell structure—The membrane of each cell is made up of fats, giving them flexibility and allowing substances to move in and out of them.
Vitamin absorption—Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble. This means that your body needs fats in order to take in a sufficient amount of these vitamins, which contribute to important things such as: a strong immune system; healthy eyes, skin, and hair; bone health, and blood clotting.
Energy—Fat is a more condensed source of energy than the other two macronutrients. Fat contains 9 kcal per gram, which means it has more than twice the caloric density of proteins and carbohydrates, both of which contain 4 kcal per gram.
Hormones—Your body needs fat to produce hormones and to maintain their proper functioning.
It should be clear by now that we cannot live well without a healthy dose of fat every day, and a prolonged lack of fat in our diet would lead to all kinds of serious health issues. But if this is truly the case, why does fat get demonized so often? When did it earn such a bad reputation? How can low-fat fad diets be so popular?
The answers to these questions lie behind the many different types of fat, their small chemical differences, and the incredible impact that these differences have on our health.
The good & the bad—types of fat to eat and avoid
Fat is made up of fatty acids. There are over twenty different fatty acids, but in this article we'll only be focusing on the main three categories that you'll most commonly hear about and read on food labels:
Unsaturated fats
Monounsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fats
Saturated fats
Trans fats
As you can see above, there are three main types of fat, with one of them having two subtypes. Before diving deep into the details, let's take a look at how they compare in terms of how healthy they are:
Note: keep in mind that you can bake healthy cookies with olive oil, just like you can find nutritious muffins without any questionable fat sources. Both of these would not fall under the red traffic light. Many of the foods above have hundreds or even thousands of variations; their placement on the image is simply an estimate based on the variations that are most common.
Unsaturated fats get the green light: they're usually healthy, with both subtypes (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) generally considered to be equally beneficial. Prioritize unsaturated fats.
Saturated fats get the yellow light: they can be both healthy and unhealthy, depending on many factors such as their amounts and the specific food containing them. Be mindful of saturated fats.
Trans fats get the red light: they're practically always unhealthy and related to many risks, with some small exceptions. Steer clear of trans fats.
Unsaturated fats are considered the "healthy" fats—they are recognizable for usually being liquid at room temperature. They're also the ones that have two subtypes, namely monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil, avocado, and peanuts, for example) and polyunsaturated fats (found in flaxseeds, walnuts, and salmon, for example). Polyunsaturated fats include the famous omega-3 fats, which are an essential part of our diets since they are among the few types of fat that our bodies cannot create.
Saturated fats are somewhat controversial. They were unjustly considered evil for a long time, but the narrative is shifting. More and more studies are finding that the supposed negative effects of saturated fat intake are either overblown or straight up nonexistent, as long as the saturated fat comes from a healthy source, such as organic meat or dairy, fermented yogurt, nuts, seeds, etc.
Trans fats are universally accepted as harmful, and consuming too much of them leads to a variety of risks, many of which heart-related. Tiny amounts of trans fats that occur naturally in some animal foods are nothing to lose sleep over, but the biggest risk lies in manufactured baked goods and fried foods. Some countries have passed laws that do not allow foods to contain more than 2 grams of trans fat per 100 grams of fat, but in others this remains an unregulated area. Keep in mind that the food industry is one of the biggest in the world, and most giant corporations are spending massive amounts of money to influence the laws that could affect them and their profits.
So can I eat fatty foods without becoming fat?
The short answer is yes, as long as you're eating the right types of fat and in reasonable amounts. Naturally, the same amount of fat may not be advisable for one person while being fine for another, because we all have different bodies, microbiomes, habits, etc. If you want to find out what's best for you, consider a personalized consultation.
Keep in mind that most fatty foods contain all three types of fats; ratios are what is truly important, as they determine whether a food is high or low in a certain type of fat. For example, take 100 grams of roasted peanuts (two-thirds of a cup) versus 100 grams of boiled eggs (two large eggs).
The peanuts contain over twice as much saturated fat as the two boiled eggs. However, the peanuts also contain about eight times as much unsaturated fat, which means they are considered a great source of desirable, unsaturated fat.
Wondering why there's such a big difference? Eggs are 90% water, while peanuts are only about 5% water. This also explains why you can eat the same weight in eggs more easily than in peanuts (as long as you enjoy both equally).
It's important to remember context and to remain practical when comparing foods nutritionally. From donuts to avocados, foods are not spreadsheets filled with numbers, but rather complex structures that influence our bodies and minds differently depending on countless factors.
When in doubt, remember Michael Pollan's rule of thumb:
Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
Thank you for reading this article! Your body and mind will be grateful too, as you've just taken a step towards making more informed and better decisions regarding food. My aim is to help you maintain a healthy mind, body, and wallet—you can read more about me and the mission of stoyanism here. If you also believe in this cause and found what you read useful, you can help me by sharing this article, the Facebook page, and the Instagram page.
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