Importance of Dietary Fats

Depending on how fat is processed, it can either fight inflammation or promote insulin resistance.

FREMONT, CA: Fat was the number one dietary adversary for many years. It was held responsible for weight gain, chronic diseases, and other ailments. Although science has disproven this link, numerous misunderstandings persist.

Healthy fats, including some cooking oils, can substantially benefit metabolic health, such as reducing inflammation and enhancing insulin sensitivity, particularly when they replace carbohydrates or less healthy fats. Also, your body requires fat to absorb essential vitamins A, D, E, and K. The trick is selecting the right fats.

What Effect Does Dietary Fat Have on Metabolic Health?

Fat is a necessary nutrient. Your body needs dietary fat for organ protection, cell function support, hormone production, and energy production. Because it takes longer to digest than other nutrients, fat may also make you feel fuller and more content. Hence, although it may seem contradictory, substituting a small amount of fat for different components in your meals and snacks may help you lose weight or maintain a healthy body mass index.

Whether the fat is beneficial or detrimental to your metabolism depends on the types of fat you ingest and how you utilize them. Due to its slow digestion, fat can suppress the body's glycemic response and dampen blood sugar increases. Yet, improper types of fat (such as trans fats) can cause cellular alterations that result in inflammation.

How can you distinguish between healthy and harmful fat? First, let's examine the involved chemistry: The carbon backbone of most dietary lipids is connected to three fatty acids of various lengths. Short-chain fatty acids include less than six carbon atoms, and medium- and long-chain fatty acids contain between six and twenty-one carbon atoms. The composition divides them into several groups and influences how each fat affects the body.

Trans fats

Most trans fats are produced by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil, solidifying it at room temperature. These partially hydrogenated oils are inexpensive and have a longer shelf life than other fats; thus, they are frequently employed in processed goods requiring a longer shelf life. Yet, research indicates that a diet high in trans fats increases LDL cholesterol, decreases HDL levels, and increases the risk of heart disease. Consumption of trans fats also causes inflammation and may reduce insulin sensitivity, paving the way for metabolic disorders such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited the addition of artificial trans fats to food products. Natural trans fats are also present in small levels in dairy and animal products. Still, scientific studies indicate that these trans fats may not have the same adverse health effects as their more abundant synthetic counterparts.