Simplifying Things: Fat.
FAT. Severely misunderstood, but we’re here to SIMPLIFY THINGS.
First thing’s first: DO NOT deprive yourself of eating fat.
Why?
QUICK FACTS
Everyone needs fat to survive. Fat has 6 major roles in our health function:
It provides us with energy
It helps us make and balance our hormones
It forms our cell membranes
It forms our brain + nervous system
It helps transport vitamins throughout our body
It gives us 2 fatty acids that we can’t make on our own:
Omega-6
Omega-3
Fat takes a really long time to digest, which is why knowing the difference of what fats are cool to eat and what fats aren’t so cool to eat, is important. When fats are digested they’re either used for energy for hair/skin/muscle/tissue/bones — OR — they’re stored in your body as “surplus” energy (i.e. the tummy tire).
Everyone needs individualized portions of fat based on goals, weight, health, fitness, and threshold for physical activity. A general rule of thumb for maintaining health + weight is to consume a thumb-sized portion of fat at every meal. If you want to gain fat, increase your fat portions at every meal. If you want to lose fat, decrease your fat portions at every meal.
Fat is one of three Macronutrients, alongside Protein and Carbs. Similar to Carbs (read the blog if you haven’t yet), there are Fats that are incredible for you, and Fats that are not-so-incredible for you. (Also, Macronutrients are Protein, Carbs, and Fat. When people talk about “Tracking Their Macros,” they’re talking about keeping track of how much Protein, Carbs, Fat they’re eating.)
Culturally, we think of Fat content as the stuff that results in big bellies and poor health. The tummy-tire. Fat is generally thought of in relation to body weight and body size. And, true, eating too much fat, especially the bad fats that we’ve outlined below, will give you some extra rolls and increase potential for disease.
But that’s a convo for another day. Today, we’re talking about Fat Nutrition. If you want more info on losing body fat, let us know and we’ll give you the cheat sheet… it’s actually really easy if you know what to look for… hence reason we’re writing this blog post.
Accurate: Not all fat is created equal.
Good Fats. They are essential for our bodies to function properly. They help with hormone production, brain function, absorption of vitamins, and skin/hair/nail health. Think avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish like Salmon. These little guys are the good kind of fat, the kind that your body actually needs to function properly.
What’s a Sam+Colin blog without a cheat sheet?
Your GOOD FAT CHEAT SHEET:
Nuts + Seeds
Avocados
Eggs
Fatty Fish
Beef
Pork
Lamb
Poultry
Wild Game
Olives
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Coconut
Bad Fats. You’re looking at anything that is a trans fat or has the word “hydrogenated” in it, put it back on the shelf and run away. These bullshit products are found in many fried and processed foods, like chips and other junk garbage that nobody should consume. Consuming too much of these types of fats can lead to health issues like heart disease and high cholesterol.
Your BAD FAT CHEAT SHEET:
Trans-Fat
Hydrogenated Fat
Partially-Hydrogenated Fat
Canola Oil
Vegetable Oil
Sunflower Oil
Safflower Oil
Peanut Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Any type of seed oil, actually (READ THE OIL BLOG FOR MORE INFO ON YOUR GOOD OILS)
Fried Food
Breaded + Fried Food
Eggs that are NOT free-range/pasture raised
Meat + Poultry that is not grass-fed, grass-finished free-range/pasture raised
If you’re interested in the science-y stuff, here’s the science-y stuff:
Fats are carbon + hydrogen elements joined together in a hydrocarbon — it looks like a chain and determines the fat type. We call these Fatty Acids. Fats in the body and in food are built from these hydrocarbon/ fatty acid chains.
There are 2 types of Fat: Unsaturated and Saturated.
Saturated Fats have more hydrogen atoms in their fatty acid chain, Unsaturated Fats have less hydrogen atoms in their fatty acid chain. If you think of it like cars in a parking lot, the hydrogen are the cars. Saturated Fats are a full parking lot. Unsaturated Fats have available spaces for cars to park. Saturated Fat stays bonded/together at room temp. Unsaturated Fat turns to liquid at room temp. Think about a jar of coconut oil — it’s solid or semi-solid — i.e. a Saturated Fat.
People will tell you that Saturated Fat is bad for you because foods that have high Saturated Fat content usually are high in cholesterol as well. They’re misinformed. Yes, true, Saturated Fats do usually have a higher cholesterol content, BUT they’re not bad for you if you’re eating the right types of fat (see your cheat sheet above). Your liver will handle the cholesterol production and regulation for you. Clogged arteries are either a genetic predisposition, or you’re choosing to eat garbage.
Processed Food (yes, including “low-fat” labeled crapfood) = bad
Whole Food = good
To digest fat, the body breaks down triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol. Then the body repackages these compounds and moves it through the bloodstream. Digestion of fat takes places mostly in the small intestine, aided by the pancreas. Fatty acids move through the intestinal cell layer, then intestinal cells repackage these fatty acids into chylomicrons. Chylomicrons are released into the lymphatic system, and then they travel through the thoracic duct into the circulatory system.
As you can see, it takes a hell of a long time to digest fat. That’s why we don’t need to eat very much fat, and, more importantly, why the type of fat that we do need to eat is important.
xoS
THE SIMPLIFYING THINGS SERIES
Simplifying Things: What to eat.