The Truth About Eating Fats: Why They Keep Us Healthy?

Health & FitnessNovember 27, 2017

We live in an era where a lot of people have joined the craze of staying fit through an active lifestyle. May it be through a pilates class, a Crossfit class, or a cycling class, there are tons of ways you can follow to get that dream body. But then again, slimming down and staying fit is not all about exercising—you also have to watch what you eat. What if we told you that you need to eat some fats to get rid of your fats. Does it sound too good to be true?

Studies say that currently, there are around 375 million people in the whole world who follow a vegetarian diet

The Right Kind Of Fats

Now, just because we said fats, it doesn’t mean we are going to tell you that you can have all the pizza, fried chicken, or doughnuts in the world. The kind of fats that you need to include in your diet are called “dietary fats”. A lot of people got stuck on the belief that you have to limit your self to vegetables in order to get that flat stomach. People also somehow connected dietary fats as a root cause of being obese or obtaining Type-2 diabetes but in reality, sugar is the real enemy here.

In 1960s, scientists were paid to make sugar look less fattening than dietary fat

What most of us don’t know is that fat is actually a macronutrient that we need to take in order to stay healthy. Not getting enough fats in our system will only negatively affect our hair, skin, metabolism, hormones, and energy. Basically, through eating fat we get to absorb vitamins like Vitamin A, D, E, and K since these are all fat-soluble vitamins. Our cell membranes are built and maintained by the fatty acids we get from dietary fats. This results in a better health and the elimination of excessive hunger.

Dietary fats are especially good for improving the health of your heart

Always remember that foods that fall under the “unsaturated fats” category are the ones you want to keep in mind (and in your fridge) while the ones that fall under the “saturated” and “trans” fat categories are considered unhealthy. To be more specific, unsaturated fats are divided into two groups—polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

Polyunsaturated fats are known for lowering the level of your blood cholesterol so you can stay away from a heart disease. A study shows that Omega-3 Fatty Acids which fall under polyunsaturated fats are proven to be of great help in improving one’s health. This is perfect for all you Japanese food lovers since Omega-3 fatty acids are present in tuna and salmon. Sardines, trout, flaxseed, walnuts, and tofu are other examples food which are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Tuna and Salmon are a great source of polyunsaturated fats

Monounsaturated fats do the same job as polyunsaturated fats when it comes to keeping you away from any heart disease. One common source of such fat is found in avocados. One of the numerous health benefits that avocados have is that it is a better source of potassium compared to bananas. Other sources of monosaturated fats include olive oil, canola oil, almonds, almond butter, peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut oil.

What If You Don’t Get Enough Fat?

Not getting enough fat can have numerous harsh effects on your body. You can experience different kinds of dryness like dry skin, dry eyes, and dry hair. One can also experience constant fatigue and mental fatigue. Women can experience a disruption in their menstrual cycle due to hormonal problems.

Even if dietary fats are good for your health, you still have to take them in moderation since you’re still consuming calories as you eat them. Eliminating food rich in saturated fats and trans fat from your diet will give you an enormous contribution in your weight loss journey.

A diet plan that is starting to catch the attention of many is the Ketogenic Diet. It’s when you consume a low amount of carbs and load up on the intake of fats. While many were able to get positive results, it’s still up to you to decide the type of diet that works best for your body when it comes to losing weight. We know a lot of us can’t let go of our love for food but when you want to lose some weight while staying healthy, it requires sacrifice.