The Skinny on Fats
Dietary Fats
In general, in our culture, dietary fat is discussed as if it was a toxin to be avoided. Sadly, that obscures the medical fact that children ( and adults ) actually need fat in their diets. Fat not only supplies essential fatty acids (EFA), but also helps the body absorb the important fat-soluble (meaning they can only be absorbed with fat) vitamins A, D, E and K. It is also critical to enable the body to make hormones like estrogen.
And remember that fat is the essential ingredient for brain development in infancy and the first three years of life. The human brain reaches approximately 80% of its adult volume by age 3,years, and healthy fat is the critical essential nutrient for neurological development. Breast milk should ( if mom is willing to eat fat) and infant formula does supply 40–50% of their energy as fat.
What Are Fats?
Fats are what the body uses as fuel, for energy and to build nerve tissue (including the brain and nerves) and hormones. A supply of unused fat is stored in Fat cells for future use, so that the body does not break down muscle when deprived of enough food. Fat storage, in the appropriate amount, is essential for growth and development.
But there are “ good fats” and then there are “ bad fats”. For many kids and teens, ( and adults) desserts, snacks and high-fat meats, such as bacon, hot dogs, and fattier cuts of red meat, fill their diet. These types of fats are high in calories, but low in the essential health components within “good fats”
There are three major types of Fats
1. Unsaturated fats: Fats in plant foods and fish.
Monounsaturated, found in avocados and olive, peanut, and canola oils, peanuts , and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans
Polyunsaturated, found in most vegetable oils such as sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed oils, walnuts, flaxseeds, fish,
Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat found in oily fish like tuna and salmon
2. Saturated fats: Fats in meat and other animal products, such as butter, shortening, lard, cheese, and milk (except skim or nonfat). Coconut oil is also high in saturated fat, but it has a healthier structure so is considered a healthier oil to use then fats found in animal products. A diet rich in saturated fats is linked to increased cholesterol.
3. Trans fats: These fats are called trans-fats because they are vegetable fats that are heated so that hydrogen molecules attach( hydrogenated) so the fat remains solid ( not liquid) at room temperature. They are also called “ partially-hydrogenated” Examples are stick margarines, Trans fats, like saturated fats can raise cholesterol
Food Labels:
By law, food labels must comply with correct labelling:
fat-free foods can contain no more than 0.5 grams of fat per serving
low-fat foods may contain 3 grams of fat or less per serving
A light (lite) food must contain 50% less fat or one third fewer calories per serving than the regular version of that food.
A reduced-fat food must contain 25% less fat per serving than the regular version.
Note, however, that these labels can be intentionally confusing because, if the “regular version” of a product is high in fat ( eg. Peanut butter- 16g) then “ reduced fat will still have 12g. It sounds better, but its still relatively high in fat. The total percentage of fat in a food is calculated by dividing the number of FAT CALORIES by the number of TOTAL CALORIES , multiplied by 100.
What about Milk? When should my child switch to low -fat milk?
Although many schools and some pediatricians still recommend switching to low-fat or fat-free milk after a child turns two, A 2016 study found that kids who drank milk with higher fat content had higher levels of Vitamin D and lower BMIs. In fact, the evidence suggests that children who drink whole milk are less likely to be overweight than the children fed low fat milk. A 2020 meta-analysis of 28 studies found that 10 of them saw no association between milk fat percentage and childhood weight, and the other 18 found children who drank higher fat milk had lower weight. Averaging together, the risk of being overweight was reduced by 40% with whole milk.
Foods that provide “ good fats”:
Avocado, and Avocado oil
Eggs
Beef (grass-fed if possible), Lamb
Butter, Cashew butter, Peanut butter
Cheese (shredded, sliced, cheese sticks)
Chicken, dark meat
Coconut: oil, cream, milk
Flaxseeds, Hemp, Sunflower seeds
Kefir, full fat
Milk, whole
Sesame oil, Olive Oil
Walnuts
Wild salmon, fresh, frozen or canned
A general approach to fats, and in fact to nutrition in general is to maximize fresh, whole foods and minimize packaged and processed foods. But it is also important to prevent dietary considerations to become a full time job : allow all foods in moderation.
