Transcript
Speaker: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of The K-Tay. Today we are going to talk about fats, healthy fats, unhealthy fats, the whole truth and why eating fat won't make you fat and why actually your body is begging for it. A lot of us are not eating enough fat, particularly any of you diet culture ladies, Slimming Club, any of us who've spent decades in and out of different diets.
Speaker: Quite often when we cut calories, we cut fat. And it actually could be the one thing that's holding us back. OK, so the fat myth that we've all been sold is that eating fat makes you fat. This is from decades of diet culture and the decades of diet culture have gotten this very wrong. Diet clubs, low fat branding, fear based marketing trained us to see fat as the enemy. And people genuinely believe that the reason why people were getting fat was because they were eating too much fat. So the result was that women were eating low fat everything. Now, thankfully, we are moving away from this narrative, which is so, so amazing to see. But it's still there a little bit within slimming clubs. And or you might be fearing all real olive oil, skipping avocado, afraid to eat a few nuts. But this could be the very reason why you're feeling tired, hungry, hungry.
Speaker: and hormonal as well. And as you start to increase your healthy fats, the difference that you're going to notice is incredible. The reality when it comes to fats is fat is essential.
Speaker: So the reality about eating fats is that fat is one of our macronutrients, our protein, carbohydrates and fats. It is essential. And cutting it out is actually what's going to be sabotaging your results. Any diet that is getting you to cut out any big macronutrient is not a healthy diet.
Speaker: We need fat for sustainable fat loss, for balanced hormones and for real energy. So our healthy fats are a non-negotiable. And I will talk to you now as we get going on what healthy what's the difference between healthy fats and what fats should we avoid and what like fats that you might be unsure. Are they OK? We're going to talk about all of that.
Speaker: But if you have been avoiding eating fat, this could be the one thing that's actually slowing your progress down. OK, so what actually is a fat? Fats or lipids are made of fatty acid chains.
Speaker: How those chains are structured determines whether a fat is solid, liquid, stable or unstable and how it behaves in your body. So it varit the makeup of the fat very much matters.
Speaker: So today in relation to nutrition, we're going to be talking about monounsaturated fat, which is essential, polyunsaturated fat, which is your omega-3 and your omega-6, which is essential, your saturated fats, which we can have in moderation, and trans fats, which are the types of fats that we need to avoid. We're going to go through all of this anyway. So when I say essential, so when I talk about your unsaturated fats being essential, what that means is your body can't make it. So you have to eat it. So if you're not eating unsaturated fats, you are deficient in them because your body can't make it on its own.
Speaker: So if you've been on a low fat diet or you're not eating your unsaturated fats, as I said, you're most certainly deficient in fat. And what that's going to show up as is hormonal issues, dry skin, mood dips, brain fog and stalled progress when it comes to fat loss.
Speaker: So why does your body need fat every single day? I'm going to talk you through six non-negotiable jobs that a healthy fat does for you in the body. it's So number one, vitamin absorption. OK, so without consuming enough fat, vitamins A, D, E and K will not be absorbed by the body because they're fat soluble vitamins and you need fat present in the diet to be able to absorb them. It doesn't matter how many greens you eat. If you're not eating any fat, you will be deficient in A, D, E and K, which is a significant amount of vitamins to be deficient in. Heart protection. So monounsaturated fats help maintain your healthy HDL, which is your good cholesterol. and it lowers your LDL, which is your bad cholesterol. So healthy fats are good for your heart. So that myth that fats are bad for your heart is incorrect. Certain fats are bad for your heart, but healthy fats are do the opposite. And that's important to to know.
Speaker: Fat is also a major fuel source. Now, I know I talk about carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are our body's preferred fuel source. So fat is the most energy dense macronutrient. So it can work as steady, long burning fuel for your workouts, your work and your life.
Speaker: It's also nice as a backup method. So, you know, if you have a day where you have it's got a little bit longer between meals, if the meals that you are having have a good healthy fat source as well as a good carbohydrate source, if your blood sugar start to dip a little bit,
Speaker: you You have fat there as as ah as a fuel source as well. Still eat your carbohydrates, rely on carbohydrates and for the majority of your energy. But fats do also play a part in energy. you won't get energy from protein, but you will get most of them from carbohydrates and some of them from fat.
Speaker: So cell and nerve health. OK, so every single cell membrane in your whole body is built from fat. And so are the protective sheets around your nerves. So.
Speaker: Every part of your body. needs fat so that every cell in your body is healthy. And that's so, so important. Then fat is important for clotting, movement and inflammation. So clotting, the good clotting, you know, the type that saves us from bleeding to death and all of that. We need healthy clotting in our body. Fat is responsible for that. Muscle contraction. So we need it in our workouts as well. And just for general movement and inflammation,
Speaker: Fats really help to reduce inflammation in the body. And as we know, inflammation in the body is what leads to illness and injury. And we need to make sure that we're eating it enough foods that help reduce inflammation and healthy fats will do that for you. And then the last one, as I've mentioned a little bit already, is hormone production. So fats are literally the building blocks of your hormones. So if you eat fat, you're making hormones. If you skip fat, it's going to be hormonal havoc in your body. And if you are 40 or over,
Speaker: Hormones might already be wreaking havoc in your body. There might already be a lot of imbalances happening as you start to head into perimenopause. And by eating a low fat diet, you're making that so much worse. So if you are currently struggling a little bit, hormones just don't feel like they used to.
Speaker: as you start to introduce some healthy fats into your diet, the difference that youre that you might actually notice in your day-to-day life could be quite significant. So, you know, I think if if there's your hormones, I start to feel a little iffy, you're just feeling a little bit off lately, particularly around your period or, you know, or any time of the month.
Speaker: Just have a look at your fat intake first. Make this little change and see, it doesn't make a difference. and Another the thing to note when it comes to fats as well is how full it actually makes you feel. So I really noticed this as I was making a conscious effort to increase my healthy fats. I'm great with my saturated fats, love a bit of cheese, love a bit of chocolate as much as the next girl. But I was like, I need to get the healthy fats in, you know, the nuts, the seeds, that the avocados. So what I started to do, i was making this gorgeous breakfast sandwich, not breakfast sandwich, sorry, why am I saying breakfast sandwich? This gorgeous chicken sandwich.
Speaker: Now I've probably talked about this chicken sandwich on the podcast before because it's so good, right? So I was making it just two slices of wholemeal bread and a packet of the Carol's Honey and Chili Chicken. the whole packet. So when if you're having a packet of chicken in your lunch, you need the whole packet, 100 grams, 150 grams, whatever.
Speaker: That's the amount protein you need in your lunch. So the whole packet that just goes in the bread, no butter or mayo necessary. And I put a slice of low, low cheese on it. Right. And then I put it into the George Foreman grill or any sandwich maker will work. And it made the most delicious, toasty, just chicken, cheese, two slices of bread, really high in protein, quite low in calories. And then i used to just have my chopped vegetables on the side. Right. I am going somewhere with this in relation to healthy fats. One little change that I made to that sandwich that changed everything and made it ten times more filling.
Speaker: So two slices of bread, the whole packet of chicken, half an avocado mashed on top, slice of low, low cheddar, throw it all together, put it into the George Foreman or the sandwich grill.
Speaker: And... oh my god like just as delicious, even nicer because it was kind of creamier with the avocado and so much more filling. So don't underestimate how putting a bit of avocado into your sandwich or into your your salad is going to make a huge difference. Or, you know, instead of just having a piece of fruit, having a piece of fruit and 20 grams of nuts is going to be so much more of a substantial snack and actually fill you than just having the piece of fruit on. So So let's talk a little bit about the good guys. OK, so your essential healthy fats that you need in the body. So this should make up the bulk of your fat intake. So when you're thinking about getting fat into your diet, it should mostly come from these fats, which are your monounsaturated fats and your polyunsaturated fats. So your monounsaturated fats are your heart loving, hormone loving fats. OK, So these fats raise your healthy cholesterol, lower your bad cholesterol and protect your heart. OK, so where you're going to get these monounsaturated fats are extra virgin olive oil, avocados, avocado oil, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias.
Speaker: peanuts, peanut butter, olives. They're going to be your main sources of the monounsaturated fat. Keep in mind that olive oil can be a little bit drizzled on your salad. It can be cooking with olive oil. And obviously, as I've spoken about avocado there, you use pairing your nuts or whatever with your fruit, peanut butter instead of ordinary butter, perhaps, and olives into your salad. These are a great way. And remember, although they are calorie dense, their calories well spent.
Speaker: You just measure and a little goes a long way. And then your polyunsaturated fats. So your polyunsaturated fats are your omega-3 and your omega-6 fatty acids. Like I said, really essential.
Speaker: Body can't make them on their own. A lot of us are particularly deficient in omega-3. So the omega-3 and the omega-6 fatty acids are your polyunsaturated fat. It's really important for brain health, cognitive function, healthy hormones and stabilizing your mood.
Speaker: All of these things sound familiar, sound like things that we tend to struggle with a little bit when it comes to perimenopause and our hormones shifting a little bit. So these become even more important than ever as we enter this period and inflammation as well. So they play a huge part in reducing inflammation in the body, in your joints, in just in your body in general, in relation to disease, to injury. So oily fish, fantastic source of omega-3. salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout. If you don't eat oily fish, we're talking supplements. We're talking fish oil capsules or fish oil liquid. Another source then will be walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds. So the oily fish and those walnuts and those seeds that I've mentioned there are kind of omega-3 sources. Then omega-6 sources. because six We've got sunflower, corn, and soybean, rapeseed oils, flaxseed oil,
Speaker: and eggs as well so eggs would be a source of both so yeah all of these things really important that we get them into our diet and and a mix of both the monounsaturated and the polyunsaturated So as we dive into the omega-3 and the omega-6 a little bit more, what's really important is getting the ratio right between both. OK, so both are essential, but modern diets have the balance badly skewed. So most of us have the wrong balance of this. OK, so the ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is one to four.
Speaker: So we should be having four times omega-6 to omega-3. If that makes sense to you. The modern Western diet, the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is about 1 to 15%.
Speaker: up to one to twenty five, which means instead of eating four times more omega six than omega three, we're eating about twenty five more times omega six than omega three. And that's when it becomes problematic. And so the problem with too much omega six, yes, we need it because body is not producing it. So we need omega six. But too much of it leads to chronic inflammation. And as we know, chronic inflammation leads to joint issues.
Speaker: injury and illness of all sorts and affects our immune system. So we need to get this balance a little bit less skewed, basically.
Speaker: So omega-3s, these are anti-inflammatory, so really good for heart and brain health, hormone balance, mood and cognition, joint health and skin health. So we're talking oily fish, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds and algae oil if you are plant based. But what I'd say is that If you don't eat oily fish, and when I say oily fish, I mean ah you'd want to be eating oily fish twice a week. So having smoked salmon or salmon or mackerel or whatever spread out twice throughout the week, you will be deficient in amiga in the type of omega-3 that you need from oil oily fish that you can't get from chia seeds, flax seeds. So if that's the case, you are best to supplement with a fish oil. So the I use the Eskimo 369 fish oil. which is expensive enough, but you'll get it in the local chemist. and Carlson's fish oil is another one. And it's just a little teaspoon, five mils once a day. And I still have salmon once a week, most weeks. But I know that I'm getting enough omega-3 and I'm feeling like I'm fixing that balance. Because what we really need to do, instead of worrying about pulling back an omega-6, we need to actively increase omega-3. So we need be putting our walnuts into our yogurts or our oats. We need to be putting our chia seeds or our flax seeds or our hemp seeds into our porridge or into our yogurt bowls or whatever it is that we're doing. And we need to either start including oily fish one to two times a week and
Speaker: If that's not the case, we want to be supplementing with a good fish oil supplement. If you are plant based or vegetarian, then we are talking about an algae oil supplement, which is it goes straight to the source. It's what the fish eat.
Speaker: to where they get it's where the fish get the omega-3 from. So you go straight to the source. So it is just as effective. But you definitely need that if you are plant based. So when it comes to omega-6, then so omega-6 is pro inflammatory in excess if we're eating too much of it. It's still essential in small amounts, but it is easy to over consume. And processed foods are loaded with it. OK, so this is what drives inflammation when imbalanced. So common sources are sunflower, soybean, corn oils, most processed foods and fried foods. So what I'll say about omega-6.
Speaker: If you are you following me on this podcast and making these little changes to your diet and you're reducing the amount of processed food that you're having and you're increasing the amount of healthy whole foods and you're eating more protein and you're eating more whole grain carbohydrates and now you're going to actively add in more healthy fats.
Speaker: that balance is going to even out and you'll be consuming a hell of a lot less omega-6 by just getting rid of most of the processed food out of your diet. Not all of it now. We're all about the balance. It's okay to have a little bit, but that...
Speaker: Our three main meals are built on healthy whole foods or minimally processed foods. OK, that's what we want. And then it's just really looking at that omega-3 and being like, do I need five meals of that or, you know, a couple of capsules of that every morning so that I'm bringing up that balance to get that one to four ratio rather than the one to twenty five ratio. So saturated fat. Now, this is the gray area. OK, and a lot of people have been told that saturated fat is bad for them and they should be avoiding it. They should be afraid of saturated fat. But saturated fat is not the enemy, but it's also not the source to build your fat take around. So like I i keep saying, build most of your fat intake from your healthy unsaturated fats.
Speaker: But you can also have a little bit of saturated fat in your diet because let's face it, you know, we want to be able to enjoy our lives too. But what I'd say is what you want to do is keep your saturated fat to about 10% of your daily calories. So saturated fat naturally shows up in high protein foods. So meat, dairy, eggs. So if you're working towards hitting a protein target,
Speaker: it almost always brings some saturated fat with it. So you tend not to have to worry. You don't need to actively increase your saturated fat. You just need to keep an eye that you're not eating too much of it, which we'll talk about that 10% calories. Yeah, we'll be talking in and for most people, it'll be somewhere between kind of 15 and 25 grams of saturated fat per day. depending on ah I'll talk more about it in relation to your your total fat fat intake in a minute when I'm talking about total in fat intake. If you stick to your protein targets. So, you know, if you've calculated your calories or you're using the hand portion method, whatever you're choosing to use, and you're eating mostly healthy whole foods, your saturated fat intake will regulate itself. You don't need to chase 0% products for the sake of it. They're usually higher in sugar, higher in artificial sweeteners. So unless you really like something. So 0% fat Greek yogurt is the one exception that I'll make on that.
Speaker: And that will be because... The 0% fat Greek yogurt is actually a little bit higher in protein. I rely on it as a protein source. and I eat quite a lot of it. So because I love cheese and I love chocolate, my saturated fat tends to be on the higher side as it is. So I will kind of pull back on dairy. Like so I'll have low fat milk and I love low fat yogurt, but I will also get that avocado seeds into my diet. So I'm getting healthy fats from other sources. So common sources of saturated fat would be fatty cuts of meat. So what you want to do is choose lean where possible, you know, Go chicken, turkey. If you're going red meat, get, you know, the 5% fat beef mince. Make sure you're getting kind of lean steaks, things like that. Full fat dairy. So cheese, cream, whole milk. Our sources of saturated fat, butter, coconut oil, cocoa butter, which is our lovely chocolate and most processed foods as well. OK, so if you're eating too much processed foods, your saturated fat can really clock up.
Speaker: The minimum amount of fat, total fat, whether it's the mix of saturated and unsaturated fat, the total, if you're using MyFitnessPal and you're looking at the nutrition nutrition section, it's the fat total there, 50 grams.
Speaker: You shouldn't be eating less than 50 grams of fat per day. This is what's needed for basic health needs of every adult every day, okay? So if your fat is below 50 grams, don't panic. It'll be quite easy to bring it up with a just a little bit of intention. The upper limit for women, now men probably get away with a bit more, Try not go above 80 grams of fat every day, total fat every day. Now, if there's a day where you're out and you've had McDonald's with the kids or you've had a little bit of extra chocolate or some days, you know, if you've had salmon and avocados and then you've had nuts in your granola, like sometimes you can have a slightly...
Speaker: heavier fat day, you know, it's okay. In general, kind of the sweet spot for most people will be 50 to 80 grams. Some people prefer and perform better on a slightly higher fat diet. And some people will perform and feel better on a slightly higher carbohydrate diet. The main thing that stays consistent is your protein target. So you want to make sure that your protein is kind of 100 to 140 grams per day, depending on the person.
Speaker: And then let your carbs and fats fall naturally enough. Just make sure your fats are above 50 grams. And then once your fats are above 50, if you have slightly higher fats, some days that's OK, slightly higher carbs. Some days that's OK, as long as you're within your calories, whether you're at maintenance or whether you are tracking in a deficit. it'll take care of itself. But the one thing you do need to watch is your saturated fat. So in your saturated fat should make up around 30% of your total fat intake, which is roughly 10% of daily calories. And my fitness pal will have calculated that percentage for you.
Speaker: based on the calorie total that you're aiming towards. So it'll probably, your saturated fat will be somewhere between like 15 to 25 grams, I'd imagine, per day. So like, as you can imagine, that clock's off fairly easy. You're having lots of processed food, lots of cheese, lots of chocolate. So just keep an eye on it and fill up on healthy fats a little bit more.
Speaker: So the one type of fat that you need to avoid are trans fats. Now, trans fats are banned in the EU. So I would imagine that it is the same in the UK. But in relation to EU regulations, trans fats are banned.
Speaker: However, they can show up in trace amounts. in certain processed foods. Okay. And they will hide in the hydrogenation process. And I'll explain that a little further. But what I want to say about this, there is no health benefits to trans fats. There is no safe level, full stop of trans fats, not to frighten you. And I don't want you to be tearing through the supermarkets, like panicking about everything. Like I said, as you are basing most of your meals around healthy whole foods, getting that little bit of balance in your life, bit of chocolate, bit of popcorn, but whatever it is that you enjoy, a bit of wine. And the basis of your diet is healthy, whole foods, minimally processed foods. You'd be absolutely fine.
Speaker: But There is no safe level of trans fat, even the trace amounts. If you're eating a diet that's mainly processed, that you're relying on a lot of processed food, this is where it will become an issue for you. So for every 2% of calories that you consume from trans fats daily, your heart disease risk rises by 23%.
Speaker: So trans fats are extremely detrimental to your heart health. So they are basically created by hydrogenation, which is a process that turns liquid oils into solid fats and extends the shelf life of things. OK, so they raise your bad cholesterol. They lower your good cholesterol. They drive inflammation and they increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and type two diabetes.
Speaker: So the places that they hide are the processed foods. OK, so baked goods, cakes, cookies, pies, microwave, popcorn, fried foods, chips, doughnuts, fast food, shortening, stick margarine, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, those kind of things.
Speaker: What you want to look out for really is anything that says partially hydrogenated. hydrogenated is not a good sign. So just have a look at things. and even But as I said, trans fats have been banned in the EU. So like, I don't want you to freak out and be afraid to have a bit of microwave popcorn or frozen pizza every now and again. You know, like it's most of your diet is from healthy whole foods and you are fairly protected within the EU. But if your whole diet is processed foods, then the little trace amounts that you're getting from lots of different foods can be an issue then.
Speaker: So when we look at getting about 50 grams of fat, of healthy fats into our diet every day, this is what it might look like. OK, so for breakfast. Now, i'm only I'm not giving you your protein sources or your carb sources. I'm only really looking at the fat sources here. OK, so obviously you're going to other things with the but breakfast, Greek yogurt, one tablespoon of chia seeds, one tablespoon of nut butter would be 14 grams of fat.
Speaker: Lunch could be salad with half an avocado and one tablespoon of olive oil dressing, 18 grams of fat. Dinner could be 100 grams of baked salmon, roasted vegetables in one teaspoon of olive oil would be 14 grams of fat.
Speaker: And a snack could be a small 20 gram handful of almonds or walnuts, 10 grams of fat. And that would bring it to 56 grams of mostly unsaturated hormone loving fat.
Speaker: Obviously, you're not just going to eat 50 grams, 56 grams of fat. Those things are going to be paired with, you know, with chicken or with porridge oats or with potatoes or, you know, with whatever, you know, protein source and carb source that you're having in those meals. But that's just giving you kind of fat source examples in meals.
Speaker: So just to round things up, as I always like to do when I spread all this information at you all in one go. If you remember four things from this session, it's this. okay Number one, fat is not the enemy.
Speaker: Healthy fats are essential for hormones, heart health, brain function and sustainable fat loss. Number two, build from the good guys. OK, let monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats make up the bulk of your intake. Olive oil, avocado, oily fish, nuts, seeds.
Speaker: Number three, manage, don't fear saturated fat, but manage it. So keep it ah to around 10% of the daily calories or 30% of your total fat intake. If you hit your protein target and stick to your portions or your calories, it handles itself.
Speaker: And number four, ditch trans fats completely. There's no safe level. Just check the labels on your baked goods, your fried foods, your ultra processed snacks for yourself and for your kids and your family. Just to keep an eye on it because, you know, if we're consuming a lot of us, like I said, it is is like you won't find it a massive amounts in any EU product, but trace amounts. So just keep an eye on that' that partially hydrogenated line that you might see.
Speaker: And that's it. Eat the fat, feed your hormones and feel amazing, feel fuller, feel more energy, better hair, better skin. all just everything. Like everything just gets better when we actually start including some of these healthy fats in.
Speaker: If you found this episode helpful, please do share it with your friends. Pop it on your stories and tag me at Kate Hamilton Health. or send it to your friends on WhatsApp and let's spread the word and get more people listening. If you're not subscribed to the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you did subscribe. If you felt like leaving a review, that would also be super helpful. Thank you so much.
Speaker: And if you would like more support with your nutrition. So all of these deep dives that I'm doing on the podcast is very much done in a structured way with my Nourish Her coaching. You're getting educated, you're getting informed. but you're also given structure, accountability, support, and it is a one-to-one coaching service, but with all the benefits of and community of group coaching as well. It's just such a magic, magic community. And I'd love for you to be a part of it. So if you're interested, do check out the show notes, which has all the information on Nourish Your Coaching. And do you always reach out to me if you have any questions about coaching or about
