Pay attention to quantity and quality Prevent diseases through proper fat intake

Healthy fats: An important part of a balanced diet

Although it has long been assumed that a diet that uses as little fat as possible, is used for health, but today it is known that healthy fats are an important part of a balanced diet and even protect against disease. Important here is not only the amount of fats consumed, but also their quality.

Fats can promote health

According to numerous experts, a healthy diet should not contain too many calories and little sugar, salt and fat. However, fats do our body good too. Especially vegetable fat is often advised for a healthy life. Very important in the fat intake is not only the amount absorbed but also the quality.

Fats have long been considered a fattening, which should be avoided. But today we know that the right fats can even protect against diseases. When it comes to fat intake, both quantity and quality are important. (Image: petrrgoskov / fotolia.com)

Vegetable fats healthier than animal fats

Only a few weeks ago, there were lively discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of coconut oil. While advocates have long pointed out that this oil is the healthier alternative to other fats, said an expert, it is a veritable poison.

While some coconut oil is actually a little healthier than animal fat, some of the vegetable oils are probably one of the worst because it's made up mostly of saturated fat.

According to scientific studies such fats affect the general life expectancy. They are also often associated with the worldwide spread of obesity, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The daily consumption of unsaturated oils, however, prolongs our lives, as shown in a study.

Germans consume too much saturated fat

However, the fatty acid composition in the diet of Germans is unfavorable. As the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) writes in a previous release, saturated fat accounts for the highest proportion of fat intake, at 16 percent of men's energy and 15 percent of women's energy.

Thus, both men and women clearly exceed the recommended guideline for saturated fat intake of seven to ten percent of the total energy intake.

These fatty acids are contained mainly in foods of animal origin such as butter, cream, lard, meat or sausages, but also in coconut oil.

"The risk of increased total and LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and coronary heart disease can be reduced by replacing saturated with polyunsaturated fatty acids, which ideally make up 10% of the total energy intake," the DGE writes.

Prevention of nutrition-related diseases

According to the DGE, which recommends that adults consume 30 percent of their daily energy in the form of high-quality fat, both the amount of fat consumed and the quality play a crucial role in the prevention of nutrition-related diseases.

"Low fat intake has a beneficial effect on fat metabolism, as the total and LDL cholesterol concentration in the blood drops," say the experts.

And: "Anyone who uses a lot of fat has an increased risk of being overweight while having an uncontrolled energy intake."

Because fat delivers twice as many calories with 9 kilocalories per gram as the same amount of carbohydrates or protein and contributes so easily to an increased energy intake.

Higher consumption of vegetable foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains as well as fewer animal foods or the selection of low-fat variants can reduce the total energy and fat intake.

A special feature is fat fish with its high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. He should be on the menu once or twice a week according to the 10 DGE Healthy Eating Rules.

In particular, high-fat sea fish, such as mackerel, salmon, herring or tuna, are rich in long-chain n-3 fatty acids, which can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

Pay attention to the quality of the fat

According to the DGE, saturated fat should be replaced with polyunsaturated fatty acids in terms of fat quality.

This reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and the total and LDL cholesterol concentration in the blood.

This is achieved, inter alia, by the increased consumption of vegetable fat, such as rapeseed and walnut oil and the exchange of animal versus vegetable foods.

According to researchers from the German Institute for Nutrition Research (DIfE) in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, rapeseed oil is even better for some people than olive oil.

The scientists have found that rapeseed oil can improve cholesterol and liver values ​​even more.

But olive oil as an integral part of the Mediterranean diet is healthier than, say, animal fats, according to experts.

Avoid trans fat

Deep-fried products, puff pastry bakery products and finished products are rich in trans fatty acids.

They increase the risk of lipid metabolism disorders and coronary heart disease and should be consumed only very rarely.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), five grams of trans fat per day can increase the risk of a heart attack by 23 percent.

All reasons why trans fats should be banned in the US. (Ad)