Eating Fat Does Not Make You Fat:

Before I start, if your name is Karen please look away. This is purely a funny stereotype with no malice attached.

I am 100% sure that you have heard someone, probably a lady called Karen with a hair cut like this (please see attached) telling you “ohhh I wouldn’t eat that if I were you, it’s got loads of fat in it, that’ll go straight on your waist” – Shut up Karen!

Fats are an ESSENTIAL macronutrient in our diets,. ‘Essential fatty acids’ for example. Essential meaning, we cannot live without it. Having fats in our diet allow us to absorb certain vitamins, helping with lubrication of joints, promotes healthy skin, healthy hair and healthy nails to list a few.

Now that we have established that Karen is an uneducated swine and that we do in fact need fats, here the categories:

Monounsaturated – These can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Found in avocados, olives, olive oil, nuts and spreads made from nuts like peanut butter.

Polyunsaturated – Also help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels and provide the essential fatty acids we mentioned earlier. Found in oily fish, sesame oil, flaxseed and spreads made from these oils.

Saturated – Eating too much of these can increase your cholesterol but should not be avoided. Found in processed meats likes sausage, burgers, fatty meat, hard cheeses, whole milk, coconut oil and whole cream.

Trans – Avoid wherever possible. (occasionally, fine) Found in fired foods, takeaways, biscuits, cakes, pastries or hard margarines. Occasionally having a biscuit or slice of cake is not going to kill you or your cholesterol.

To summarise, all fats play a role even trans fat - their role is purely taste.

Consuming fat does not make you fat, it in fact helps maintain a

healthy body for you to live in.

Stay safe,

Josh.