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The Free Fitness
Tips Newsletter - October 2009
brought to you by
http://www.freefitnesstips.co.uk/
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The Free Fitness Tips Newsletter -
October 2009 is sponsored by:
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Hello everyone. Welcome to the
October 2009 Free Fitness Tips Newsletter. I'm now back
from Brazil and settling back into a normal routine. As
regular readers will know there hasn't been much content added to
the blog this month. The reason for this is that I've been
really struggling to find the time to write new articles.
Hopefully, this month now that I'm a bit more settled I will be able
to get a few more new articles published. Anyway, I still
managed to get a couple of articles published so this month's
newsletter still includes:
1)
Featured Article
As I
discussed previously I've not managed to get many articles added to
the blog this month so the only contender for a featured article
is...
What is Dietary Fat?
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In the past I discussed the two
macronutrients
carbohydrates and
protein in detail. Today I want to complete my write up of the
three macronutrients and provide an introduction to dietary fat.
WHAT IS DIETARY FAT?
Dietary fat is probably the media’s
least popular macronutrient. Everywhere you look people are being
advised to consume less fat, buy low fat products or even avoid fat
completely. However, despite this negative perception dietary fat
is an essential part of your diet. It supplies your body with
essential fatty acids (EFAs), provides energy, helps your body
absorb certain
vitamins, helps your body grow and supports a strong immune
system.
Dietary fat contains more than double
the calories of the other macronutrients with nine calories per gram
compared with carbohydrates and protein which both contain four
calories per gram. There are a number of different types of dietary
fat and I will be discussing each of these in greater detail below.
HOW MANY DIETARY FATS ARE
THERE?
There are four main types of dietary
fat although each of these can be broken down further. Their names
refer to their chemical structure. Although certain foods may be
referred to as a source of saturated fat or a source of trans fats
it is never really that simple. Most fat sources are a combination
of two or more fat types. For example, whilst olive oil is often
referred to as a source of monounsaturated fat it also contains
smaller levels of polyunsaturated and saturated fats.
1) SATURATED FATS (SAFAs):-
Saturated fat are those where all the carbon atoms are bonded to
hydrogen atoms i.e. they are saturated with hydrogen. They are
found mainly in animal products such as meat, butter, cheese and
cream
2) MONOUNSATURATED FATS (MUFAs):-
Monounsaturated fats are those where there is one double bond
between carbon atoms. This means the carbon atoms are bonded to
hydrogen atoms at all but one point (the double carbon bond). They
are therefore not fully saturated with hydrogen atoms (hence the
‘unsaturated’ part of the name) but only at this one point (hence
the ‘mono’ part of the name). Monounsaturated fats are mainly found
in avocados, nuts and olive oil.
3) POLYUNSATURATED FATS:-
Polyunsaturated fats are those where there are two or more double
bonds between carbon atoms. This means that they are not fully
saturated with hydrogen atoms (hence the ‘unsaturated’ part of the
name) and this happens at two or more points (hence the ‘poly’ part
of the name). The two main types of polyunsaturated fats are omega
3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids. Omega 3s are mainly found in
oily fish whereas omega 6s are mainly found in vegetable oils. Both
omega 3s and omega 6s are essential fatty acids which means they
cannot be produced by your body and must be sourced from your diet.
4) TRANS FATS (TFAs):-
Trans fats are those where an originally unsaturated fat has
hydrogen atoms added to it. They can be created naturally when a
hydrogen bond on an unsaturated fat gets twisted. However, the vast
majority of trans fats are man made in a process called
hydrogenation. Man made trans fats are mainly found in processed
foods such as biscuits, cakes and crisps.
WHICH TYPES OF DIETARY FAT
SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Conventional wisdom suggest that you
should consume mainly unsaturated fats, limit your intake of
saturated fats and completely avoid trans fats. The logic behind
this is the effect that each type of fat has on your HDL (high
density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol
levels. LDL cholesterol can build up in the artery walls which
causes them to become blocked and restricts the flow of blood
through them. Ultimately, this can lead to
high blood pressure, increase your risk of heart disease and
damage your vital organs. HDL cholesterol removes excess LDL
cholesterol from your bloodstream and blood vessel walls then
transports it to the liver where it can be processed and removed
from the body.
So based on conventional wisdom
unsaturated fats increase levels of HDL cholesterol whilst reducing
levels of LDL cholesterol and therefore come highly recommended.
Saturated fats increase levels of both HDL and LDL cholesterol,
hence the reason moderate consumption is advised. Man made trans
fats are believed to have no health benefits. They increase LDL
cholesterol levels whilst reducing HDL cholesterol levels and should
be avoided at all costs.
Whilst on the surface this does seems
like good advice, Scott Kustes challenges this conventional wisdom
in an article he wrote for
The Fitness Black Book . Scott suggests that you should choose
natural fats where possible. Trans fats are largely man made so
should be avoided. However, a lot of polyunsaturated fats such as
vegetable oils are highly processed and cannot really be classed as
natural fats. Therefore, these polyunsaturated fats should be
avoided too. Monounsaturated fats, certain polyunsaturated fats
such as fish oils and saturated fats all count as natural fat and
should be consumed.
So overall
here’s the lowdown on each of the four fats…
- Saturated Fats:- OK to consume but make
sure they come from natural sources e.g. go for a joint of beef
instead of a beef burger.
- Monounsaturated Fats:- OK to consume but
make sure they come from natural sources e.g. go for nuts and olive
oil instead of margarine and mayonaise.
- Polyunsaturated Fats:- OK to consume but
make sure they come from natural sources e.g. go for oily fish,
seeds and green leafy vegetables but avoid vegetable oil.
- Trans Fats:- Avoid at all costs.
HOW
DOES YOUR BODY USE DIETARY FAT?
When you
ingest any type of dietary fat it is broken down into glycerol and
fatty acids in the stomach and intestine. Since fats and oils
cannot be mixed with water or water based substances such as
digestive fluids, the glycerol and fatty acids next need to be
altered in a process called emulsification. This process allows
fats to be held in the digestive fluids long enough to be digested.
Once digested the fat is then transported to your body’s cells via
the bloodstream and lymphatic system.
Your cells use
fat in a variety of ways some of which include:
- Providing insulation for your nerves.
- Forming the structure of cell membranes in your body.
- Lubricating your joints.
DIETARY FAT SUMMARY
Dietary fat is
often seen as the macronutrient to avoid. However, as long as you
go for natural fats it is a highly important part of your diet. By
choosing the right fats you can keep your cholesterol levels under
control and keep your body functioning properly. I hope this
article has given you a basic introduction to dietary fat and its
importance. In my next few articles I plan to expand on the pros
and cons of consuming dietary fat and also recommend a selection of
natural fat choices.
Until then I want to hear your
thoughts. Do you agree with my recommended fat choices? Is there
anything I have missed? Let me know by leaving a comment.
Sources:
Fat (Wikipedia)
Fat Summary (Weight Loss Tips and Secrets)
Digestion of Dietary Fats (Carbs Mart)
The Fat Panel
The Four Types of Fat – Sorting Out the Confusion of Dietary Fats
(The Fitness Black Book)
2)
Free Fitness Tips Blog Updates
Unfortunately I only managed to
publish two new articles to the blog this month which were:
-
What is Dietary Fat? - October 25th 2009 (This month's featured
article)
-
10 Reasons You Should Walk 10 Miles A Week - October 29th 2009
(Guest post from Mary Ward)
3) Final Words
Due to the lack of blog content this
month the newsletter is pretty slim. Hopefully, next month it
will be a bit more substantial.
Until next time,
Tom Parker (Owner and Creator of Free
Fitness Tips)
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