FAT AND LOW-FAT DIET
Benefits of fat and low-fat diet
A low-fat diet entails that you need to consume less fat than what is typically needed as part of your balanced diet. A balanced meal provides 20-35 percent of the total calories from fat, and a low-fat diet would mean shrinking the portion of fat in your plate to anywhere between 10-15 percent.
Fat is loaded with calories, as every gram of fat contains 9 calories. Therefore, a low-fat diet seems like an obvious pick to lose weight, but fat also packs micronutrients that are indispensable. Its omega-3 and omega-6 (essential fatty acid) content aid in lowering inflammation. Fat is vital for eye and brain health. It also aids in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins like A, E, D, and K.
Following a low-fat diet may compromise some of these benefits.
Getting started with a low-fat diet
Fats are important for maintaining good health and fitness. Essential fatty acids is fat that our body cannot produce and relies on sources outside. Therefore, it is important that as you bring your daily fat intake below 20% of your portion, at no point should you deprive your body of these fatty acids.
Reducing the portion of fat in your diet will demand limiting the use of oil, ghee, butter, or any other visible fat to less than two teaspoons per day. This will also mean avoiding processed foods that are often high in trans fats, which increase cholesterol (LDL) that gets deposited in the inner linings of the arteries.
There are invisible sources of fats that make up your diets like nuts, and dairy like milk, cottage cheese, etc. These invisible fats need to be curbed to follow a low-fat diet.
While sources of fat like salmon, mackerel, etc. are good sources of omega-3 fat and can provide essential fatty acids, for someone who is a vegetarian, these needs should be fulfilled by eating a mix of green leafy vegetables and seeds. Your low-fat diet should not only help you lose weight, but also provide the benefits fat has to offer.
