Feed Scarborough Presents: The Function of Healthy Fats!

Scroll Down for Quiz: Participants can receive an additional 10 points to use at the Feed Scarborough Community Grocery Store! 

 What are fats?

Fats are nutrients that give you energy. Fats have 9 calories in each gram. The main types of fat found in food are: saturated fats, unsaturated fats. However, most fats and oils contain both saturated and unsaturated fats but in different proportions.

Saturated fat: Saturated fat is solid at room temperature, which is why it is also known as “solid fat.”

Limit foods that contain saturated fat

 Limit the amount of foods containing saturated fat, such as:

• cream
• higher fat meats
• processed meats
• canned coconut milk or cream
• some frozen desserts like ice cream
• some desserts and bakery products
• most deep fried foods, like French fries
• cheeses and foods containing a lot of cheese

When preparing foods, try to limit the amount of saturated oils and fats like:

• lard
• ghee
• butter
• palm oil
• coconut oil
• hard margarine

Choose lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry. Trim off as much of the visible fat as possible. Drain fat from cooked ground meat. Lean or extra lean cuts of meat can include:

• pork loin
• chicken breast
• sirloin roast or steak
• inside and outside round roast
• lean ground poultry

Trans Fat: Trans fat is created through the process called hydrogenation which increases the shelf life of fat and makes it harder at room temperature. Most of the trans fat comes from partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). Like saturated fat, trans fat can raise your cholesterol, so try to eat as little trans fat as possible. 

Unsaturated fat: Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature. It is mostly found in oils from plants. If you eat unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, it may help improve your cholesterol levels. Try to eat mostly the two forms of primary unsaturated fats: monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.

• Monounsaturated fat: This fat is found in avocados, nuts, and vegetable oils such as canola, olive, and peanut oils. Eating foods that are high in monounsaturated fats may help lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats may also keep “good” HDL cholesterol levels high. 
• Polyunsaturated fat: This type of fat is mainly found in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, sesame, soybean and corn oils. Polyunsaturated fat is also the main fat found in seafood. Eating polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat may lower LDL cholesterol. The two types of polyunsaturated fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Tip: Total Fat: Total fat includes saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fat. Make sure you review the nutrition facts label on food packaging to learn the total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. 

Why are Fats Important to Maintaining Good Health?

Any fat that is not used by your body’s cells or turned into energy is converted into body fat. Likewise, unused carbohydrates and proteins are also converted into body fat. Fat provides humans with:

• A source of energy
• A source of essential fatty acids that our bodies cannot make
• A component of maintain our bodies cell walls
• A way to absorb fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, and K
• A way to insulate our bodies and protect our organs

 Recommended Dietary Allowance

The dietary reference intake (DRI) for daily fat consumption in adults is between 20% to 35% of total calories from fat. This is about 44 grams to 77 grams of fat per day if you eat 2,000 calories a day. It is recommended to eat more of some types of fats because they provide health benefits. It is recommended to eat less of other types of fat due to the negative impact on health.

Choose foods with healthy fats including:

• Omega-3 Fatty fish: Tuna = Per 1 can, light, packed in water contains 1.4 grams of fat Herring = 9 grams per ½ cup, Mackerel = (½ cup contains 25 grams of total fat, Sardines = Per 5 sardines canned in oil, drained contains 7 grams of fat
• Cooking Oils = 1 tablespoon of canola oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil,  olive oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil all contain 14 grams of total fat. 
• Avocados = ½ of medium avocado contains 12 grams of total fat
• Dairy Butter = 1 tablespoon contains 12 grams of total fat
• Ghee =  1 tablespoon contains 14.9 grams of total fat
• Mayonnaise = 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise contains 10 grams of total fat
• Hummus = ½ cup of hummus contains 10 grams of total fat
• Eggs = 1 large boiled egg (5 g of fat), 1 fried or 1 scrambled egg (7 g of fat), 1 poached egg (4.7 g of fat)
• Peanut Butter = 2 tablespoons of smooth or crunchy peanut butter has 16 grams of total fat.
• Nuts (almonds, pistachios) = 10 nuts, assorted has 8 grams of total fat, while 2 tablespoons of almonds have 14 grams and pistachios 13 grams of total fat
• Seeds = Per ¼ cup, dry roasted with no salt sunflower seeds has 19.3 grams of total fat while 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds has 5.5 grams of total fats 
• Tahini = Per 1 tablespoon of tahini has 8 grams of total fat
• Chicken = Per 3 ounces, boneless skinless chicken breast: 2.7 grams of total fat, Chicken leg: Per one chicken leg, without bone contains 15.3 grams of total fat, Ground Chicken: 3 oz cooked contains 9 grams of total fat
• Olives = Per 10 olives contains 6 grams of total fat.

Be cautious: Too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. As part of a healthy diet, you should try to cut down on foods and drinks that are high in saturated fats and trans fats and replace some of them with unsaturated fats. 

A daily balanced diet should include healthful monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Making Healthy Choices 

What you eat on a regular basis matters for your health.

• Choose foods that have little to no added sodium, sugars or saturated fat.
• Compare the nutrition facts table on foods to choose products that are lower in sodium, sugars or saturated fat.

Fat intake, especially saturated fat and industrially-produced trans-fat intake, can also be reduced by:

• steaming or boiling instead of frying when cooking;
• replacing butter, lard and ghee with oils rich in polyunsaturated fats, such as soybean, canola (rapeseed), corn, safflower and sunflower oils;
• eating reduced-fat dairy foods and lean meats, or trimming visible fat from meat; and limiting the consumption of baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods (e.g. doughnuts, cakes, pies, cookies, biscuits and wafers) that contain industrially-produced trans-fats.

ALL ABOUT FATS! 

Take the quiz to receive an extra 10 points on your next grocery order!

 

 

 

Scarborough Food Security Initiative

2229 Kingston Road

Scarborough, ON M1N 1T8

For more information contact us at:

info@feedscarborough.ca

416-936-3975