Fat Facts: Take control of your heart health
Fat is an important part of our diet. It provides energy, protects our organs, supports cell growth and helps the absorption of some vitamins. It also plays an important role in controlling blood pressure and cholesterol. Fat can also add flavor and texture to food in addition to helping us feel full!
All types of fats can be part of a healthy, well-balanced diet. However, being aware of the types and amounts consumed is important. Health Canada’s guide recommends 20-35% of our dietary intake from fat. This may sound like a lot, but remember a little fat goes a long way!
1g of fat = 9 calories, whereas 1g of carbohydrate or protein = 4 calories, more than twice the amount of calories per gram. For example 1 tbsp/13g of fat = 115 calories. That's the same as a slice of bread or 2 small eggs, Because fats are such a dense source of energy it is important to be mindful about the portion size!
The type of fat we have in our diet will have a big impact on our health.
Saturated fats
Saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature. They are found mostly in animal based products such as beef, pork, lamb and high fat dairy products like cream and butter. Tropical oils such as palm and coconut oil are also high in saturated fat. Eating more saturated fat can lead to increased LDL cholesterol (often known as “bad” cholesterol) which could negatively affect heart health.
Health Canada’s guidance is for our saturated fat intake to be less than 10% of our total dietary intake. For example - if your average intake is 1,600 calories, we multiply that number by 0.1 to find 10% = 160 calories. This means you should be getting on average <160 calories from saturated fat.
How to calculate grams of saturated fats?
- 1g fat = 9 calories
- 160 calories divided by 9 calories = 17.7. Therefore if someone is eating a 1600 calorie diet they should be consuming less than 18g of saturated fat a day.
Tips to cut back on saturated fats:
- Choose lean cuts of meat and remove visible fats from meat before cooking.
- Choose lower fat dairy products (eg. skim milk instead of full fat milk or cream, low fat mozzarella instead of regular, frozen yogurt instead of ice cream).
- Add extra beans, lentils or tofu to beef mince meals
- Swap a red meat dish for fish dish
- Switch from coconut or palm oil to olive or canola oil.
- Experiment with Meatless Mondays - plant based protein recipes tend to be much lower in saturated fats.
Unsaturated fats
Unsaturated fats are considered to be healthy fats. They are usually liquid at room temperature. They are found in products such as nuts, seeds, oily fish and different types of vegetable oils. Having more unsaturated fats can help to protect heart health by improving HDL cholesterol (often known as “good cholesterol”) levels.
Unsaturated fats can be further broken down into two types both offering health benefits:
- Poly-unsaturated fats (these include both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids):
- Nuts and seeds (walnuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds)
- Fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, trout, herring)
- Vegetable oils such canola, corn, soybean, flaxseed, safflower
- Mono-unsaturated fats (includes omega-9 fats). These also contain vitamin E:
- Nuts and seeds (flaxseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
- Avocados
- Vegetable oils such as olive, peanut, sunflower, sunflower
Trans fats
Trans fats can increase LDL cholesterol and should be minimized. In Canada, it is now illegal to add partially hydrogenated oils to foods, so there are less trans fats in processed foods today than in the past.
Trans fats also occur naturally in products such as dairy, beef and lamb. However, the amount of trans fat in these products is relatively low e.g. 90 g serving of beef = 0.4 g of trans fat, 1 cup of 2% milk = 0.13 g of trans fat. Choose leaner cuts of meat and lower fat dairy products to limit intake.
Summary
Reducing fats overall can help to lower calorie intake. Swapping saturated fats for unsaturated options can help to improve your cholesterol levels. That doesn’t mean that saturated fats should be avoided completely! Many fats are great sources of nutrients. It’s important to be mindful of portion sizes and frequency in your diet to manage weight and protect your heart health.
If you’d like some more information or guidance on fats, speak to your Constant Health dietitian.