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Why The Fats In Our Diet Are Important | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
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Jan 30, 2025
Expert dietician explains how and why we need the macronutrient 'fats' in our diet. For years fats have been demonised, and so it’s quite understandable that people would be hesitant about adding more to their diet. However, fats are not to be feared. They’re a macronutrient, which means that we need them in relatively large quantities, and are vital for optimal health. In this video, specialist sports dietitian Elle Kelly looks at the importance of fats in our diet, breaks down the myths and looks at how you can add more healthy fats to your diet. Follow Elle on IG: ellekellynutrition *** Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:28 - What are fats? 01:17 - Debunking fat myths 03:47 - Cholesterol, fats & heart disease 05:57 - Low fat products 08:37 - Any more questions? ********************************* Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MyproteinUK?sub_confirmation=1
View Video Transcript
0:00
4 years fats have been demonized and so
0:02
it's quite understandable that people
0:03
would be hesitant about adding more to
0:05
their diet however fats are not to be
0:07
feared they are a macronutrient which
0:09
means we need them in relatively large
0:11
quantities and they are vital for
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Optimal
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[Music]
0:16
Health my name is l and I'm a registered
0:18
dietician specializing in Sports
0:20
Nutrition and disordered eating in this
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video we're going to look at the
0:23
importance of fats in our diet break
0:25
down the myths and look at how you can
0:27
add more healthy fats into your diet
0:29
fats f and food are mainly made up from
0:31
triglycerides which are made up of a
0:33
units of glycerol and Three fatty acids
0:36
each fatty acid is a chain of carbon and
0:38
hydrogen atoms fats are classified based
0:40
on their chemical structure with
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saturated fats having all single bonds
0:44
between carbon atoms and unsaturated
0:46
fats having at least one double bond in
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their fatty acid chain saturated fats
0:50
tend to be solid at room temperature
0:51
with unsaturated fats usually being
0:53
liquid fats are required to provide
0:55
essential fatty acids provide energy and
0:57
are also necessary for the absorption of
0:59
fat fat soluble vitamins a d e and K
1:02
fats form the basis of cell membranes
1:04
and are required for the production of
1:06
certain hormones like estrogen
1:07
progesterone and other steroid hormones
1:09
we know that fats are really important
1:11
so how did we end up here fearing fats
1:13
fats have been vilified for decades as
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always nutrition science has evolved a
1:17
lot since then so let's explore some of
1:19
the myths around fat and whether they
1:21
still stand true today number one eating
1:23
fat makes you gain fat this was never
1:25
true no single food or food group can
1:28
cause weight gain because weight gain
1:29
occurs as a result of eating more energy
1:31
than the body requires over time fat is
1:34
the most energy-dense nutrient with it
1:35
providing 9 kilo calories per gram
1:37
meaning that smaller Minds can provide a
1:39
lot of energy in comparison to other
1:41
foods but this doesn't mean that it's
1:42
bad or that it will automatically cause
1:44
weight gain fats play an important role
1:46
in satiety and can help you to feel
1:48
Fuller for longer which would actually
1:49
have the opposite effect number two fats
1:52
are unhealthy foods high in fat are not
1:54
inherently bad for you and a lot of
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research has suggested that quality may
1:58
be more important than quantity in most
2:00
cases due to the different structures
2:02
different fats have different effects on
2:03
the body you may be familiar with the
2:05
terms good and bad fats or healthy and
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unhealthy and these refer to unsaturated
2:10
and saturated fats respectively
2:12
unsaturated fats can be further
2:14
classified as monounsaturated meaning
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that they contain one double bond in
2:17
their structure or polyunsaturated
2:19
meaning that they contain more than one
2:20
double bond these are known to be
2:22
beneficial for our body monounsaturated
2:24
fats are found in oils like Olive and
2:26
rape seed oil and in things like olives
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avocados nuts and seeds and are thought
2:30
to have the greatest health benefits out
2:32
of all fats polyunsaturated fats are
2:34
found in most vegetable oils in nuts
2:36
seeds and oily fish omega-3 and omega-6
2:38
fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats but
2:41
they are also considered essential fatty
2:42
acids because they cannot be made in the
2:44
body and we must Source them through
2:46
food omega-3 fatty acids are known to
2:48
play a vital role in our brain hormonal
2:50
and immune health foods such as wild
2:52
salmon and other oily fish walnuts flax
2:54
seeds and sheia seeds are all sources of
2:56
omega-3 fatty acids whilst plant-based
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sources of Omega-3 like flax seeds chia
3:01
seeds and walnuts are all high in
3:03
omega-3 fatty acids they contain a type
3:05
known as alpha linolic acid or ala which
3:09
must be converted to either EPA or DHA
3:12
in the body in order to be utilized for
3:14
its functions further than energy
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however our bodies are not greatly
3:17
efficient at this so only a small amount
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of EPA or DHA is actually gained
3:21
throughout this conversion process ala
3:23
is typically one of the most common
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omega-3 fatty acids in our diet which is
3:27
why it is encouraged to include oily
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fish in our diets twice per week as
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these contain more bioavailable sources
3:32
of Omega-3 or to supplement if you're
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not a fan of oily fish or are
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plant-based saturated fats which are
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usually found in animal products like
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Meats butter and cheese and baked goods
3:41
have been blamed as the cause of heart
3:42
disease for decades this is because they
3:44
can raise the total cholesterol in our
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blood cholesterol is a waxy substance
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that is required to make certain
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hormones but high levels in the body can
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build up in the arteries and restrict
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blood flow which increases the
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likelihood of cardiovascular related
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incidents like stroke like fats
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cholesterol is often simplified into to
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good and bad cholesterol HDL cholesterol
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which stands for high density
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lipoprotein is considered our good
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cholesterol with LDL cholesterol which
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stands for low density lip proteins
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being bad high levels of LDL cholesterol
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increase the risk of heart disease and
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stroke as it can clog up arteries which
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restricts blood flow to and from our
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heart but HDL cholesterol helps to
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remove this bad cholesterol from the
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blood and takes it to the liver where it
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can be removed from the body HDL
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cholesterol can therefore reduce the
4:25
risk of heart disease and stroke
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unsaturated fats can reduce total
4:28
cholesterol levels and specifically LDL
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cholesterol levels too which is why it
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is encouraged to replace sources of
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saturated fat with unsaturated fats
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however more recent evidence has shown
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that the link between saturated fat and
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risk of heart disease is not as clear as
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we once thought we now know that not all
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saturated fatty acids behave in the same
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way for decades full fat Dairy has been
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something we've been told to avoid with
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previous studies linking saturated fat
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intake and an increased risk of the
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development of certain diseases
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specifically cardiovascular disease
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however research from studies over the
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past few years highlights that saturated
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fats from dairy sources are actually
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associated with lower risks of
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cardiovascular disease and may even have
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a preventative effect no single food
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will automatically cause any disease and
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it's important to remember that your
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diet as a whole is important when
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considering overall health and disease
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risk foods like full fat yogurt and
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cheese can certainly be included in a
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well-rounded diet other things can
5:19
affect cholesterol levels too like our
5:21
fiber intake saturated fats are only one
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player amongst many trans fats are
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thought to have a negative effect on our
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cholesterol profile more so than
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saturated fats this is because they can
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lower HDL or our good cholesterol levels
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and increase LDL or our bad cholesterol
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levels trans fats are mostly found in
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processed foods as they are produced by
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hydrogenation which is the process that
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turns liquid oils into a solid or
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spreadable fat trans fats are the only
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fat that we should aim to avoid wherever
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possible and it's recommended that they
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provide no more than 2% of our total
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energy intake trans fats are mostly
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found in commercially produce pastries
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and cakes in some margarines and fried
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foods like donuts or fries number four
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lowfat products are better for you of
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course what is better or healthier for
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one person may be so different to what
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is better or healthier for another
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person so it's really hard to give
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blanket advice but lowfat products do
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not necessarily equal healthier or
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better when fat is removed from a
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product we could be missing out on some
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beneficial fatty acids and nutrients
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like vitamins a d e and K fat is also an
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integral part of foods from a texture
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and satiety point of view lowfat
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products may contain additional
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additives and preservatives as well as
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salt and sugar to help improve the taste
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and texture this is not necessarily
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better or worse it will depend on the
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individual however if you're choosing a
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lowfat product because they're lower in
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calories Studies have shown that because
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lowfat versions of food are not always
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as satisfying you're more likely to use
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more of it than you would if you had the
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normal version which kind of defeats the
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purpose when following a lowfat diet
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it's much harder to get the benefits
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that unsaturated fats do provide us with
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in fact a predimed study followed a
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group of individuals for an average of 5
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years and found that those who followed
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a Mediterranean style diet supplemented
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with additional extra virgin olive oil
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or nuts significantly reduce the
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incidence of cardiovascular related
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disease in comparison to a lowfat diet
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it is recommended that if you're cutting
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down on your saturated fat intake that
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you replace saturated fats with
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unsaturated fats rather than cutting fat
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entirely out of your diet evidence has
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shown that when saturated fats are
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replaced with refined carbohydrates LDL
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cholesterol levels and heart disease
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risk can actually increase we also know
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that when we have too little fat in our
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diet certain biological processes may
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not work as well consuming a low-fat
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diet can cause irregularities with
7:30
menstruation in women and contribute to
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hypothalmic amena which is the loss of a
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natural period due to an imbalance in
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energy and stress on the body which
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could be caused by not eating enough or
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low intakes of fats or carbs it has been
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shown that certain fatty acids play a
7:43
role in fertility with evidence showing
7:45
that linolic acids and omega-6
7:47
polyunsaturated fatty acid increasing
7:49
the release of lutenizing hormone which
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regulates the function of the ovaries in
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women and testies in men we've explored
7:54
the benefits of fats so how can we
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include them in our diet it is
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recommended the 20 30% of our overall
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energy intake comes from fats and
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saturated fat intake should not exceed
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11% of our total energy intake to
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incorporate more fats into your diet you
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could try adding things like nuts and
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seeds to porridge yogurt or salads and
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stir fries nut Butters avocado Olive and
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rape seed oil are also great sources of
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unsaturated fat aiming to include a
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source of fat at each meal is a great
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way to ensure that you're getting enough
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fats in your diet remember no single
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food or food group can cause weight gain
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or disease so all foods fit into a
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balanced diet aim to include unsaturated
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sources of fat wherever possible and
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remember that low fat is not always the
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way to go of course there are some
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situations where this may be recommended
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so be sure to consult with your GP or
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healthc care professional if you're
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concerned about your cholesterol levels
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or your fat intake as always if you have
8:44
any questions be sure to leave them in
8:45
the comments section below and don't
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forget to like this video And subscribe
8:48
to the my protein YouTube channel for
8:50
more great evidence-based nutrition
8:54
[Music]
8:56
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