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Daily Fat Intake
WLR's dietitian Juliette Kellow gives
her advice on how much fat is needed for a healthy diet.
How Much Fat?
By WLR Dietitian
Q: Even though I’m now at my target weight, I rarely eat
above 25g fat each day apart from on special occasions. Is it
harmful to not eat enough fat?
A: Assuming you’re having around 2,000
calories a day to
keep your weight steady, consuming just 25g of fat a day means
that only 11% of those calories are coming from fat – and this
is actually very low. The Department of Health recommends that
no more than a third of calories come from this nutrient,
while most weight loss plans rarely recommend less than 20% of
calories come from fat.
We all need some fat in our diets. In fact, it’s virtually
impossible to have a fat-free diet as most foods, even fruit
and veg, provide small amounts of fat. As well as providing
the body with a concentrated source of
energy, certain
components of fat are essential parts of our body cells and
are needed to make hormones. Fat also helps to insulate our
body and small amounts around the major organs have a
protective effect. Several vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K)
are also fat-soluble and tend to be found in foods with a high
fat content. Very low fat intakes mean that intakes of these
vitamins, in turn, are often extremely low, too.
Furthermore, two fatty acids – linoleic acid (omega-6s) and
linolenic acid (omega-3s) – cannot be made by the body and so
must be supplied in the diet. These fatty acids, known as
essential fatty acids, are needed in small amounts for many
functions in the body such as growth and healthy skin, as well
as protecting against certain diseases. Vegetable, nut and
seed oils tend to be good sources of omega-6 fats, while oily
fish is a great source of omega-3 fats, needed to prevent
blood clotting, thereby lowering the risk of stroke and heart
disease.
In view of all these beneficial effects, I suggest you
slightly increase your intake of fat. To stick within healthy
eating guidelines, you should have no more than 70g fat a day
if you’re having around 2,000 calories daily. But rather than
eating more high-fat foods like crisps, biscuits, cakes and
fried food, you should choose foods which contain the right
sort of fat and are also packed with nutrients. Good choices
include oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and
trout, avocado, olive oil, fresh nuts and seeds. In practical
terms, this might mean having an avocado dip for lunch with a
wholemeal pitta bread and vegetable crudités, serving a
grilled salmon steak for dinner or adding a handful of chopped
almonds to your breakfast cereal.
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