A Quick Guide to Fats

The cold weather usually brings a massive craving for comfort food, preferably with lots of fats like stews, deep fried goodies, and luscious puddings. I'm eating some of the new Whittaker's spiced dark chocolate as I write. Absolutely delicious and oh-so-comforting!

So I thought it's about time I write something to debunk the myths about this much-maligned nutrient.

Our body needs fats to be healthy. Fats provides insulation for our bodies. It protects our internal organs, keeps our hair and skin healthy, and helps our bodies absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.  

Our cell membranes are made up of fats and proteins, and it is the fats that allow the selective transport of substances in and out of the cell. Fats are also essential components of hormones and hormone-like substances such as protaglandins that regulate many body functions. 

Fats are actually a more efficient energy source per gram compared to carbohydrates and proteins. We burn carbohydrates within the first 20 minutes when we're exercising, and after that we rely on fats to continue fueling our bodies.

So how do we ensure that our bodies get the fats it needs to be healthy? While at the same time preventing cholesterol build-up and obesity? 

(1) Whole foods and free range meats. Whole foods contain the right balance of nutrients to help you digest and absorb only the nutrients that you need. Free range chicken is a good example. Chicken skin is actually mainly made up of monounsaturated fats in the form of oleic acid. Oleic acid, also found in olive oil, is known for beneficial effects on cholesterol. While chicken skin does contain unsaturated fats but you do need some of that, too.

Whole foods are naturally low in fats, such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. They also contain plenty of soluble fiber that can help lower LDL (“bad”) blood cholesterol by interfering with the absorption of dietary cholesterol.

It's not just what you eat but how you prepare and cook your food that makes a huge difference on how much nutrients are left when you consume it. For example, olive oil breaks down at high temperatures so I would only use it in salad dressings and low temperature cooking. Coating chicken with flour before frying also increases the amount of fat that it retains when cooked. 

(2) The optimum amount of different fats that your body needs. We all know that there are different types of fats: fatty acids, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans-fatty acids. This article rates them from best to worst and provides a traffic light guide on what and how much to eat. I find this type of guide very useful as it is not overly prescriptive. 

As a guide, healthy adults should consume a maximum of 30% of calories from fats, with around 10% from "Yellow Light fats". 

**Remember that what "optimum" means depends on many factors, such as how much physical activity you do, if you're recovering from an illness, or the season of the year. If you need help figuring this out, drop me a note :)

Achieving and Maintaining a Healthy Weight

"How do I lose (or gain) weight?" is, of course, the most asked question when I mention I'm a nutritionist. So why did it take me so long to write about it? Well, there are so many theories, diets, and products out there that it took a while to wade through them to separate fact from fiction. I also am loathe to write something that will make you think there's a one-size-fits-all approach to maintaining a healthy weight. We are, after all, biochemically unique. Not only that, a "healthy" weight for an individual is also different at different stages and ages of their lives.

However, I feel that I've been talking and giving so much advice about it that I realised that there are three key common factors that I can talk about that affect our weight:

• the quality and quantity of the food we eat
• how well our digestive system works
• metabolism!

What's the first thing you'd do if you want to lose or gain weight? Adjust the quantity of food you eat, of course! That's a fact. But what's even more important is what you eat and the quality of what you eat. Low carb, low Glycemic Index...yes! Whole, local, seasonal and sustainably sourced produce are high in essential nutrients required for the body to function at optimal levels.

Moving on to digestion, keeping our digestive system healthy not only means that we get the most nutrients out of the food we eat, but also we eliminate toxic waste more efficiently. Do you know that your body will produce more fat cells to store if you don't get rid of them? It's the body's strategy to keep toxins out of circulation, and away from the body's major organs.

I'm very particular about making sure that the food looks good from paddock - or for us city folks, from market - to plate. Selecting the freshest produce, cutting all the ingredients evenly and at the right size, making sure that the table is set beautifully to complement whatever dishes are going to be served. Shared meals eaten leisurely are encouraged, very much like the French :) 

What does that have to do with digestion? A lot! Digestion is a mechanical and biochemical process that involves all of our senses. Your mouth waters when you see something that looks delicious, right? In Ayurveda, one of the world's oldest medical systems, digestion is the cornerstone of good health and this news article offers a really simple explanation.

Finally, we get to metabolism, which is the process of converting food into energy, and is a very complex biochemical process that is unique to each individual. Our bodies are able to regulate this process according to its needs when it is functioning optimally. However, today's stressful lifestyle and poor dietary habits mean that this is not usually the case. To cut to the chase, I've found 27 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism but if your metabolism is slow due to a thyroid problem, I recommend seeing a holistic health practitioner and have it treated as early as possible.