Nutrition Nugget: Fat Facts
Bite-Size Reads for Your Health & Your Waistline
Raise a hand if you’ve heard a cautionary tale about the fat content of a food product. Chances are, if we were in a room with a thousand individuals (I know, I know, Covid…but go with it), chances are, every single one of them would raise their hand. But what if all of us were fed lies and what we thought we knew about fat, was just bad marketing? (dun dun dunnn…)
In actuality, many of us are not getting enough fat in our diets and that could be causing some serious issues in our day-to-day lives.
Common ailments associated with a lack of quality fat in our nutrition are:
- Dry and scaly skin
- Dry eyes
- Dry hair or hair loss
- Constantly feeling cold
- Hormonal challenges, including loss of menstrual cycle
- Inability to feel full or constantly feeling hungry
- Difficulty eliminating waste
- Issues concentrating or mental fatigue
- Deficiencies in fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K)
We all understand that some fats are better than others (I’m talking about you, olive oil and avocados), but what about the packaged foods we buy? These are the products where we are now forced to choose between full-fat, low-fat and fat-free. I bet you’re wondering: which is the best option? Here are my favorite “fat” pro-tips:
Stick to five grams or less of total fat
When it comes to packaged foods, we look for products that contain 5 grams or less of total fat. There is an exception to this rule though (of course). If the source is healthful and nutritious, like avocados and nuts, then we can be a little more lenient on the 5 grams threshold. But be careful of products like peanut butter. While peanuts are not necessarily a bad option, they are certainly not the best legume out there. Instead, look to add almonds, walnuts, cashews and sunflower seeds to your nutrition plan because they have some nutrients that are preferable to those we find peanuts.
Be cautious of fat-free and trans fat-free foods
Fat-free foods tend to have a higher sugar content because, frankly, we still want them to taste good. Also, they often contain more artificial ingredients, which is another cautionary factor.
Products with labels that read “fat-free” or “no trans-fat” can actually contain up to a half-gram per serving. Meaning, when we have more than one serving (like the humans we are) we could be consuming more fat than we originally thought. That’s right, in this case, 0+0 does not actually equal 0.
Choose low-fat foods
If you’re going for packaged, processed foods, those labeled low-fat generally contain less than three grams per serving (which meets the criteria listed above). And for those of us who need to track sodium, low-fat products tend to be lower in sodium than other options.
If it’s a dairy product, choose the low-fat option because dairy is not our most nutritious option to fill this nutrient need, and the fat free options tend to have a higher sugar content.
In the end, our best option is to stick with foods that are free of nutrition labels. But it’s unreasonable to think we’ll never buy packaged foods. So when you do, read labels and choose options with five grams or less of total fat. Be sure to read the ingredient list to understand the source of the fat and ensure those fat-free/trans fat-free labels aren’t just misleading marketing. Now we can outsmart the food labels, ignore the “fat is bad” messaging and confidently choose foods we know are good for us!
