The topic of 'fat' can be confusing. Here are six insightful facts about fat extracted from Nutrition for Life by leading Australian dietitian Catherine Saxelby

1. To lose weight, you have to cut back on fat

Gram for gram, fat packs in more kilojoules (calories) than either carbohydrate or protein. For example, 10 grams of pure fat supply 370 kilojoules, while 10 grams of pure carbohydrate provides only 160 kilojoules and protein supplies 170 kilojoules. This means a low-fat diet is a more painless way to keep the kilojoules low.

In addition, excess dietary fat is not readily oxidised (burnt up) but is quite efficiently stored as body fat around the stomach, hips and thighs. It seems that the hunter-gatherer diet on which the human race evolved was moderate in fat; our bodies are programmed to `conserve' every tiny bit of fat consumed in case of famine. With the abundant supply of food in our society, that famine never arrives!

Fat also appears to give less satisfaction than carbohydrate or protein, so your stomach doesn't feel as full after a high-fat meal nor is your appetite suppressed as much. These are all sound reasons to minimise the fat you eat when trying to shed excess weight.

2. Light (lite) and 99% fat-free products can help, but they're not the whole solution

Just reducing the kilojoules from fat in your diet will not produce weight loss unless the total calories are also reduced. Many light and reduced-fat foods are lower in fat, but not necessarily low in fat. Reduced-fat cheeses and `lite' potato crisps can have 25 or 30 per cent less fat, but they were high-fat foods to start with. Light biscuits and chocolate have less fat, but they may have more sugar to boost the flavour so the total kilojoules is about the same.

3. A little fat is essential to health

Some fat is vital to good health and is required for growth and proper development in children. Fat supplies essential fatty acids and acts as a carrier for fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K) as well as fat-soluble antioxidants like beta-carotene and lycopene. One or two tablespoons of a good oil or some nuts, avocado or wheatgerm should be included every day.

4. Too much saturated fat is a health problem

High intakes of saturated fat have been linked to problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, notably cancer of the bowel, prostate and breast.

5. The official recommendation is to eat no more than 30 per cent of your kilojoules from fat (30-33 per cent in NZ)

Most of us should aim to reduce the fat we eat by one-third or even one-half. The table shows approximate healthy levels of fat intake to aim for. These are based on your total kilojoule or calorie intake, so the more physically active you are, the higher your fat (and total food) intake can be. Most nutritionists suggest that, for good health, no more than 30 per cent of total kilojoules should come from fat, while some go lower to 20 or 25 per cent for people with heart or cholesterol problems and those with diabetes.

6. Low-fat does not mean no-fat

Some enthusiastic dieters want to eliminate fat completely, which is both difficult to achieve and undesirable. The famous Pritikin diet (created by the late Dr Nathan Pritikin), based on rice, grains, vegetables and fruits with a little lean meat or fish, derived only 10 per cent of its kilojoules from fat. Like the more recent vegetarian plan from Dr Dean Ornish, both have studies to back up their claims that such very-low fat diets can produce substantial weight loss, lower cholesterol and reverse blocked arteries. However, unless you are highly motivated or have life-threatening heart disease, such rigid plans are unnecessary and overly restrictive.

(C) Catherine Saxelby, 2006. Reprinted with kind permission.

Recommended website: FoodWatch.com.au
Visit Catherine Saxelby's website where you can subscribe to Catherine's free newsletter, join her FoodWatch Club and order latest book - Nutrition for Life.

Top | Subscribe | Send to a friend