I think the fat macronutrient that the food industry is bombing us with is responsible for everything. As you have learned so far, (hopefully) food does not make us fat, neither do fats. SURPLUS! Even protein, if eaten all day long, will fatten you. A healthy and balanced diet is impossible without fats. One of the reasons fats are to blame for everything is that 1g of fats contains more than twice the calories of protein and carbohydrates, 9kcal more precisely.
That doesn’t mean a handful of almonds will make you fat. Just think about that next time you put that daily recommended handful of almonds into your mouth, how many calories did you bring in? And if one complains now, saying, “Here he is, almond is also no good, according to him. So, what can I eat?” No, the almond is great, I just say that such “handful” can have 30-50g of almonds, which is 15-30g of fat in two snacks. I eat up 60g of fats per day, and advisable daily fat intake would be 15-25% of total daily food intake.
You also have fat in meat, eggs, fish, cheese, etc. If there is 10g of fat in each meal without you even knowing, that’s 400-500kcal, just as much as we need daily for a deficit. So, I refer once again to the post on calorie counting and how most people really have no idea how much food they eat or do not eat. Now, if you’re wondering why we even eat them when they are so rich in calories? Because fats, like proteins, are essential nutrients for our body. Without fats, many vitamins cannot be absorbed since they are soluble in fats only. They are crucial for regulating the production of hormones in the body and are an important source of energy when we are free of carbohydrates.
Now I will briefly divide the fats into following groups:
• saturated fats
• unsaturated fats
• trans fats
Saturated fat intake should be balanced. Many would say that they are harmful to cardiovascular health, affect bad cholesterol and so on. Yes, it is, but only if you eat 300g of seafood fried on butter and drink 1l of milk with 3.2% fat. Unsaturated fats are a better choice, so my advice would be to focus on them more. Good sources would be quality vegetable oils, cold-strained, olives, avocados, seeds, fish (they can contain both saturated and unsaturated fats) and similar. Trans fats are characterized as the worst and my advice would be to try to avoid them.
Now, why do I say to try? Because these fats can also be produced naturally. They are mainly found in dairy products and beef, which is ok. What I mean when I say the worst is that trans fats are industrially produced. You have them everywhere. They are used to make the food taste better and have a longer shelf life. If you are wondering how Mac food can last for a long time without changing its shape or taste, here’s the answer (it doesn’t matter, Mac still rules). So, this would be the explanation to the question “why snacks and fast food are not ok?”. Nothing is OK if we eat uncontrollably. Balance your diet and everything will fall into its place.