Fat facts - saturated and unsaturated fats
We all need a bit of fat in our diets, preferably unsaturated, to help the body absorb vitamins and stay healthy. But we shouldn’t have too much of it because our bodies find it hard to process and start to store it up. This means we get more unhealthy and find it harder to move, which can lead to diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Saturated fat
Saturated fat is the 'bad' type of fat and the one that we need to really watch in our diets. Saturated fat can really build up in the system, eventually leading to high blood cholesterol and increasing the chances of developing heart disease. Unfortunately, it is also found in lots of foods.
These are some of the foods to watch out for which are high in saturated fat:
- Processed meat like burgers and sausages
- Butter, ghee and lard
- Cream and ice cream
- Cheese
- Pastry
- Cakes and biscuits
- Chocolate
- Coconut oil and palm oil
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Unsaturated fat
Unsaturated fat is a more healthy kind of fat, and we need to make sure we have some in our diets. This is because it helps us absorb vitamins and can actually help to reduce cholesterol, as well as giving us essential fatty acids that our bodies need. However, we still need to be careful – we don’t need too much in our diet to keep us healthy, so it’s best to have in small doses.
Here are some of the foods you can find unsaturated fat in:
- Oily fish like mackerel, salmon, trout and sardines
- Avocados
- Nuts and seeds
- Sunflower oil
- Olive oil
- Vegetable oil
- Spreads made from vegetable oil
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'Good' fat v 'bad' fat
We do need to have a little bit of certain kinds of 'good' fats in our diet because they actually help make us healthier! So you have to be really careful that you know the difference and are making sure the kids are having the 'right kind of fat'.
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Where does the fat we eat go?
Body
If we eat too much fat, our body can’t process it so fatty deposits get stored. This can slow us down and make it more difficult for us to move about.
Heart
Too much fat in our body clogs us up so our heart finds it harder to beat. This means that it struggles to do its job and carry the blood round our body, but it can also mean that it slows down and gets poorly later in life.
Liver
Our liver helps us to digest fat. When we have too much of the wrong kind of fat in our body the liver gets clogged up and struggles to do its job properly.
Arteries
Arteries are big veins that carry blood around our body. When we have too much of a bad kind of fat called saturated fat in our system, these arteries can get clogged up so our blood finds it difficult to get through.
Lungs
If we have too much fat in our system it means that our lungs have to work harder to get oxygen round our body. This can make your lungs feel strained and tired, and we may feel short of breath or even develop asthma.
Blood
Too much fat in our blood can give us something called 'high cholesterol' as we get older. This is where the blood vessels become so thick and sticky with fat that the oxygen can’t get through, making us tired and out-of-breath.
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