A Fat Confusion

“Eating FAT will make you fat”, “FAT is bad”, “cut out bad FAT to live longer”.  These statements have been said and heard more than enough times, resulting in much confusion.
Kezia helps us to debunk the myths and clarify the effect different fats have on our health.

Good fat, bad fat, why do we even need fat?

First of all the right kind of fat plays an essential role in the body. Namely, fat is vital for vitamin absorption, energy development as well as adequate brain functionality.  There are even some fats which lowers the risk of developing heart disease. So which are good and which are bad?

Fats are divided into 4 main classes

o        Saturated fats

o        Monounsaturated fats

o        Polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 and 6)

o        Essential fatty acids

Different fats have different effects on the body:

The FAT




Bad Fats

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Good Fats

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Essential fats

The Types




Saturated fats and

Cholesterol









Transfats
or
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil

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Monounsaturated fat

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Polyunsaturated fat such as







Omega-6





and



Omega-3

The FACT




Linked to heart disease and cancer










When plant fats are processed or exposed to very high temperatures, they convert to transfats. 

Lowering good cholesterol and adding to bad cholesterol in the body.

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These fats and oils can help reduce the risk of heart disease by raising good cholesterol, lowering bad cholesterol and protects against the build up of plaque in your arteries.

Shouldn’t be eaten in large quantities because it’s not desirable to push up the total fat content of the diet

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These are types of fats which cannot be manufactured by the body and need to be obtained by the diet.

Omega-6 fatty acids keeps skin and eyes healthy






Omega-3 fatty acids lower bad cholesterol, boost brain function, strengthens the immune system and may help improve moods

FOUND in




Animal products
- Full cream milk
- Cream
- Butter & lard
- Bacon fat
- Meat fat
- Chicken skin

Plant fats
- Hard / brick margarine


Foods containing hard, saturated fats
- Brick margarine
- Pies
- Baked goods
- Recipes which don’t state the type of fat used
- Reheated frying oil

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 - Olive, canola and peanut oils
- Olives
- Avocados
-Soft-tub margarines
- Nuts and seeds

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Omega 6

- Safflower, sesame and sunflower oils
- Soft tub margarines
- Nuts and seeds

Omega 3
- Fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, pilchards and tuna)
- Omega-3 enriched eggs
- Flax, canola and soybean oils
-Walnuts, pecans, pine nuts

Recommended intake of total daily energy

General population:
8-10%

Those at risk of heart disease: <7%





<1%

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<15%

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Omega- 6

5-8%







Omega-3

1-2%

In conclusion, we can see that FAT isn’t ‘bad’ and that they’re not the enemy, we simply need to understand them correctly. If we place more emphasis on limiting the ‘bad’ fats while making sure that we eat enough of the ‘good’ fats, we’ll be one step closer to living a healthier life.