Redeeming Unsaturated Fat

Redeeming Unsaturated Fat 

For many people on a diet, the word "fat" is the worst. A dieter will often talk about how they can't consume fat as if it were a very unhealthy food, a potentially fatal sickness, or an allergen.

There is a beneficial aspect to this intense dislike of fat. The fact that eating too many fatty meals can lead to undesirable weight gain is a well-known fact in medicine.

Having an awareness of fat isn't enough; knowing how fat affects weight growth and general health is what's really needed, which is why this fat-phobia could be harmful in another way. People who fear fat and try to cut it out of their diet "as a rule" fail to recognize a key distinction between saturated and unsaturated fats.

When it comes to unhealthy weight gain that you don't desire, saturated fat is usually to blame. Solid at room temperature, these lipids constitute the building blocks of "bad cholesterol," or LDL. Elevated cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and weight gain. The harmful effects of saturated fats on the human body are so great that they raise LDL cholesterol levels at a far higher rate than dietary cholesterol alone [i]. Fearing and avoiding this type of fat is, then, a completely sensible thing to do.

On the other hand, some people who diet do it more for vanity than for health reasons, such as to lower their cholesterol or prevent heart disease. I don't mean this as a criticism in the slightest; there's a lot of evidence that being overweight is bad for your health, and there's also a lot of evidence that being overweight can cause emotional trauma and social shame, which affects millions of people, particularly kids,[ii].

Gaining weight is definitely associated with eating too much saturated fat. Reason being, there are nine calories in one gram of fat and only four in one gram of protein [iii]. Therefore, dieters can consume around twice the quantity of protein grams as fat grams while maintaining the same calorie intake. The 125% caloric disparity between protein and fat can be a game-changer for dieters who are obsessive about counting calories.

Once produced, fat cells cannot be eliminated; the only way to reduce their size is by the metabolic process of burning calories [iv]. Because genetics play a significant role in determining an individual's metabolic rate, dieters who aren't naturally gifted with a fast metabolism will have a far more difficult time losing weight than those who are [v].

Based on what we've covered so far, it's simple to see why dieters hate fat so much: it can cause health problems and lead to an overabundance of fat cells. Equally obvious is the fact that many people avoid all fat in their diets out of fear of eating this particular type of fat. Nevertheless, there is a significant nutritional omission here.

The human body relies on fat, a type of macronutrient, for several vital processes. Energy can be derived from fat. It aids in maintaining core body temperature, facilitates vitamin absorption, and plays a regulatory role in neurological and brain function [vi]. On the other hand, this seems contradictory.

There are well-established health benefits to a diet high in fat, but there are also risks to health and weight gain. Could this possibly be true? When we separate saturated fat from unsaturated fat, the answer becomes clear. The former refers to fat that poses health risks, whereas the latter describes fat that the body actually requires and makes good use of.

Polysaturated fat and monosaturated fat are the two main categories of unsaturated fat. Safflower and maize oils are common sources of polyunsaturated fat, whereas peanut and olive oils are good examples of monounsaturated fats. In order to achieve the aforementioned health benefits, the body needs fat, and the best form of fat is unsaturated fat.

Although consuming unsaturated fats has several health benefits, both saturated and unsaturated fats still contain 9 calories per gram. Therefore, no one should eat too much fat.

Since the majority of nutritional supplement manufacturers are cognizant of the dangers of saturated fat and the existence of "good" (unsaturated) fat, one would assume that their products would reflect this knowledge. The truth is that this is not the case.

Fat is an inevitable component of most dietary supplements, and for some reason, many of them even include saturated fat [2]. There is no other way to put it: a lot of people on diets are tricked into consuming so-called "nutritionally intelligent" meals, which may be "low calorie" and include certain vitamins and minerals, but actually increase the person's already limited ability to consume fat grams. Supplemental dieters typically end up gaining the weight back they were trying to lose. The amount of fat grams consumed is the real reason, although they wrongly assume a slow metabolism is to blame.

Several dietary supplements that do not contain any fat are now available, which is a relief. All dieters, no matter how big or little, can get the benefits of this method.

Dieters can enjoy these nutritious supplements guilt-free because they are completely fat-free and won't add to their daily fat intake limit.

The less apparent benefit of a protein-containing zero-fat nutritional supplement on the digestive system and fat storage reduction is less well-known. The protein content has a role in controlling how efficiently the body absorbs calories from carbs and fats. For instance, by consuming a protein-rich nutritional supplement with a sugary, fatty cupcake, a dieter can reduce fat storage and maximize nutrient utilization.

The correlation between eating fat and gaining weight has been known in the nutrition community for quite some time. When you're trying to lose weight, unsaturated fat can be your reliable companion. The negative connotation associated with unsaturated fats should be left for saturated fats, their dangerous relative, thus it's helpful to know how unsaturated fat differs from saturated fat.

Oh my goodness!

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