Macronutrients: Fats

Does eating fat make you or your child fat? Most definitely not!

Fat is an important part of a healthy diet. When it comes to dietary fat, what matters most is the type of fat that you eat. Try to choose foods with “good” unsaturated fats, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid “bad” trans-fat!

Fats are often seen in a light, but fats actually are important components of a healthy diet. Fats are needed to provide energy to our bodies. Fats also help to transport certain vitamins known as ‘fat soluble vitamins’ (namely vitamins A, D, E and K) to the liver for storage. Eating a fat with a food rich in one of these vitamins increases the amount of that vitamin which is absorbed by the body. Fats are also needed to provide the body with essential fatty acids, which the body is unable to produce.

There are also different types of fat:

Saturated fats: these are mostly found in animal products such as meats, butter, milk, cheese, cream and items containing these products, including cakes, biscuits and pies. Contrary to popular belief, coconut oil is high in saturated fat and should be limited. Saturated fats lead to an increase in blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.

Unsaturated fats: these are fats found in many plant foods such as: nuts, seeds, avocado’s and olives. There are also two types of unsaturated fats, namely: polyunsaturated fats ( found in corn, sesame oil, sunflower oil and soya) and monounsaturated fats ( found in olive and rapeseed oils). Unsaturated fats may help in lowering bad cholesterol in the body and should be consumed more frequently than saturated fats.

When readying a nutrition label, you can determine whether a product is low or high in fat.

Low fat- 3g or less of fat per 100g of product

Fat free- 0,5g or less of fat per 100g of product