Healthy plant based fats and their importance

The importance of fats

Fats are an important part of a balanced diet. Around 1/3 of your diet should consist of fats. They are particularly important in cognitive function because they form the myelin sheath around the neurons in your brain, which helps to speed up electrical signals and therefore improve your thought processing. Other important functions of fats include, insulation of our essential organs, this is why individuals who are underweight experience feeling extremely cold even in moderate temperatures, and also the absorption of fat soluble vitamins K, D, A and E. Which all have very important functions within the body such as, blood clotting, improving bone health, immune function and preventing disease. Fats are also important because they are a primary energy source within the body, particularly during low intensity exercise such as walking, or when carbohydrates aren't available. This is why individual who are underweight or following low fat diets may experience feeling lethargic and have difficulty involving in exercise.

Types of fats

We should try to optimise our intake of unsaturated fats and minimise our intake of saturated fats. This will be better for your health because unsaturated fats have higher amounts of good cholesterol and lower your chances of heart disease. Saturated fats, found in food products such as butter, cheese, wholemilk, fast food and cakes, have a single bond between their carbon atoms, making them more compact and harder for the body to break down. Unsaturated fats, found in food products such as avocados, olive oil, nuts and salmon, have a double bond between their carbon atoms, making them less compact and more fluid.

Plant based sources of fats

Healthy sources of polyunsaturated and monosaturated plant based fats include:

• Nuts

• Nut butters

• Oats

• Olive oil

• Avocados

• Seeds

• Olives

• Edamame

• Tofu

To up your intake of these fats try:

• Having porridge with nuts and seeds for breakfast

• Having avocado as a spread in a sandwich, instead of butter

• Cooking with olive oil

• Adding tofu to recipes such as stir frys and currys

• Having salads with seeds and edamame beans

Fats help to make you feel fuller for longer, as they take longer to leave the stomach than any other food group. If you try to cut out fats from your diet completely, you will experience feeling more tired, have slower thought processing and feel hungrier quicker. This is why cutting out fat for weight loss doesn't work because when you feel extremely hungry you crave sugary, high refined carb foods. Instead you should focus on the types of fats you are consuming and how much.