PHOTOS OF FAMILY Fat shaming has maligned a life-saving nutrient

That fat is bad for your body is a song that has been sang for years, driving people to go that extra mile to eliminate it from their diets, in a bid to live a long and healthy life.

As a result, many people are unaware that not all fat is unhealthy; some fats are useful while others are harmful.

Nutritionists continue to decry the fact that the positive aspects of fat remain largely ignored as we all scamper to stay away from the nutrient that has been linked to bad health and untimely death.

“We need fat. As a matter of fact, fat is one of the six nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy,” explains Milly Nasilwa, a nutritionist in Nairobi.

“What people need to understand is the relationship between fats and calories, and the point at which calories become more harmful than useful to your body,” she says.

Nasilwa explains that the five other nutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and water.

“But only three of these nutrients provide calories; proteins, carbohydrates and fats,” she says.

Experts say that your body needs fat because it is one of the only three nutrients-along with proteins and carbohydrates-that provide calories to your body.

“But the message has always been that fat provides too much calories to your body, which is harmful. On one hand, this is true because fat provides nine calories per gram, which is at least twice the number of calories provided by carbohydrates or protein,” Dr James Gicharu, a nutritionist in Nakuru, explains.

He says that a single gram of carbohydrates and that of proteins will give you only four calories while each gram of fat will give you nine calories.

But Dr Gicharu is quick to explain that avoiding fat altogether is equally harmful because “fat is essential because it provides fatty acids which are not made in your body and can only be obtained from food.”

Research has shown that fat is an important source of energy for all and even more so for those who love to exercise.

Studies have shown that when the body has used up the calories from carbohydrates, which occurs after the first 20 minutes of exercise, it begins to depend on the calories from fat.

Medical experts such as general practitioner Dr Peter Kimani explain that your body needs fat because besides being a major source of energy, it is also essential for blood clotting, brain development, and muscle movement among other functions.

FAT SHAMING: Not all fats lead to being overweight

Dr Gicharu explains that healthy skin and hair are maintained by fat and that the key issue here is to balance the intake and to take the right fat.

He says that a calorie is simply a measurement, “just like how you can have a teaspoon of sugar, salt and so on. It is simply the amount of energy released when your body digests and absorbs food.”

More calories provide more energy to your body.

“Health problems relating to calories occur when you consume more calories than your body needs. These extra calories are stored in your body as body fat,” Nasilwa explains.

“And consequently provoke a myriad of problems from your weight to heart related complications.”

Although all fats yield the same amount of calories, some fats can cause extreme damage to your body.

Monounsaturated fats are considered safe and healthy, particularly to your heart. These are fats that you can derive from sources such as natural peanut butter, avocado and olive oil.

Other fats that are also considered healthy but not as healthy as monounsaturated fats are the polyunsaturated fats. They can be derived from sources such as fish oil as well as corn oil.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are derived from plants and vegetables.

But then there are those that are considered to be bad fats. They can be damaging to your heart and overall health. 

The main source of bad fats is animal products such as meats, particularly red meat, bacon, sausage, butter and so on.

Bad fats can either increase both good and bad cholesterol, or decrease good cholesterol while increasing bad cholesterol.

The long-term impact is that they lead to cardiovascular diseases and can be fatal, particularly when they lead to heart attacks or even strokes.

However, it is important to note that even what may be considered as fat-free foods can have a lot of calories because, carbohydrates and proteins are also sources of calories.

“Note that foods that are generally low in fat can yield a lot of calories depending on the mode of cooking,” she says.

Fried foods should be eaten sparingly; they tend to be very high in fat and calories.

 “A baked potato of reasonably large size contains about 220 calories, this is less than a gram of fat. But, since fried foods are tastier, people tend to shallow or deep fry most of their foods,” Nasilwa says.

She further explains that the same potato deep fried will yield almost three times more calories, nearly 700 calories, and a staggering 34 grams of fat.

Deep frying robs food of nutrients. These foods also tend to trigger chronic health conditions, including acidity problems and irritable bowel syndrome.

 “Ensuring that you consume fewer calories from fat can help you keep your weight at the desired level and also help you to reduce cholesterol in your blood,” says Dr Gicharu.

Sources of cholesterol in our bodies are two. An estimated 75 per cent of cholesterol is manufactured within our bodies, while 25 per cent comes from the fatty foods we consume.

If you are in the habit of consuming a lot of fatty foods, this could increase your cholesterol and cause you serious health complications.

“Besides what we eat, people who are overweight or come from families with a history of high cholesterol should be extra cautious and visit a doctor regularly to have their cholesterol monitored,” Dr Gicharu explains.

He says when there is too much cholesterol in your blood, you develop a condition called atherosclerosis, which is the narrowing and hardening of arteries.

With time, this condition can progressively block the arteries, blocking blood flow to the heart, causing a heart attack.

Dr Kimani explains that a heart attack occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of a heart muscle is suddenly blocked.

“If blood flow is not restored quickly, the affected section of the heart muscle begins to die,” he says.

Besides a heart attack, Dr Gicharu explains that high cholesterol makes you a perfect candidate for coronary artery diseases, which can consequently increase the risk for irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure or even stroke.

Health complications relating to what we eat is often not an overnight problem, but a consequence of a series of poor health choices.

Nasilwa says that “since we cannot completely avoid fat because it is an essential nutrient just like proteins, we should nonetheless make effort to keep fat intake low.”

“This coupled with more intake of non-fatty foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins and nutrients will yield beneficial results to your overall health.”