How Much Fat Do We Need?

We are often advised to cut back on fat. It is because fat makes us fat. It is loaded with calories. If you want to lose weight, If you want to lose weight, you calorie input, i.e., your food consumption must be less than your calorie output – which means the calories your burn off through the day.
A pack of chips, French fries, hot samosas, jalebis tempt us. In a weak moment we eat them a lot. Whenever you’re tempted, opt for a juicy fruit or a nice salad. Whenever you’re tempted and yet resisted your temptation to enjoy a hot vadai or samosa or anyother mouth-watering sweet, you congratulate yourself and buy a trendy accessory for yourself or pamper yourself in a better way.
Why should you avoid fat?
I found answer more suitable to quote here Recently, I read something interesting about Egyptian pharaohs. American and Egyptian experts studied the mummified remains (that dates back 3500 years) of Djeher, who lived in the Ptolemaic era and found that heart disease was rife among affluent ancient Egyptians suggesting deaths may be more due to heart disease than smoking. The scans revealed signs of atherosclerosis, a life-threatening condition where fat and calcium built up in the arteries, clogging them and stiffening their walls.

So fat could be reason for not only for our fattiness but also for many diseases. The main reason for a big ‘no’ to oil is its calories. One gram of fat equals 9 calories. One gram of carbohydrates or one gram of proteins equals 4 calories. So compared to carbohydrate and proteins, fat contains more calories — which means it not only increases your cholesterol levels but also fattens you. Better if you avoid visible fats such as oil, butter, ghee and margarine.

Then what are invisible or hidden fats? There are hidden fats present in almost all foods in varying amounts. Food items such as cheese (milk fat up to 70 per cent); oily fish such as tuna or sardines have a high fat content; even fruits like avocado are high in fat.
Don’t we need fat at all? Yes, we do need fat for our metabolic pace. It has to be kept to a minimum.
Why does fat make us fat? The overflow of calories turns into fat. If we consume more and more oily stud, we are adding more and more to the fat we have already stored in our fat cells and they have to expand to give room to the additional fat. If it reaches to a further high, they can no longer store and start multiplying.

Once you decrease fat intake, fat cells shrink in size, but they do not decrease in number. The fact is so simple that once fat cells are formed they stay there forever. So if you start consuming more again, they process recurs.
The facts to remember are – every type of oil whether it is groundnut, sunflower, mustard, olive, sesame or anyother – they contain 9 calories per gram. So it is crucial to keep your fat intake to a minimum to keep your arteries clear of clogging and keep yourself trim.

Good fats and bad fats: Very often we hear of terms such as monosaturated, polysaturated etc. Examples of good fats are monosaturated fats such as olive, peanut and canola oil. Polyunsaturated fat are extract from plant sources such as con and sunflower oil. These are also considered good fats. It is because, when consumed in low quantities, they reduce blood cholesterol and protect against heart disease.

So limit fat element but do not eliminate from food. We need fat to build cells; they provide energy, preserve body heat, and protect the organs from damage. Vitamins A,D, E and K are soluble in fat, and fat is needed for their absorption.