How much fat do you need?

We continue to establish the necessary macronutrients in our diet and it’s your turn to get to know one of the most “infamous”, fats.

Previously we discussed the key factor in diet, and the role of the protein in it.

Will eating fat make you fat?

It is perhaps the greatest myth that exists on this subject.

And the answer is “maybe”… but strictly speaking, No… Eating fat is not fattening, not even a little bit.…

In this case, fat will certainly make you fat, but so will carbohydrates, and protein. It’s not the fat from the diet that will influence fat tissue gains, but the excess calories, and these can be calories from ‘good’ as well as ‘forbidden’ foods…

As a rule, people who undertake a calorie surplus, know in advance, or “should” know that they can cover it.

This statement in the language of the sector means that the “6-pack” will say goodbye, or rather, see you soon 🙂

Is fat healthy?

Another question that has been mitigated to the point of satiety, and which also has little science.

Fat is a macronutrient, which possesses a series of very important elements: the Essential Fatty Acids. With that, the question is more than answered.

The question of fats has also been divided, marking two types:

1. “Good” fats: Monounsaturated, and Polyunsaturated;
2. “Bads” fats: Trans, Saturated.

How much fat do you need?

For most people, the recommendation for the amount of daily fat they need is in roughly the same range:

Between 20-30% of total calories eaten.

The caloric contribution of one gram of fat is 9 calories.

Then, you should simply have a simple calculator, and adjust the “count” you previously had on the calories you need per day, where now, having the data of the ideal calories that correspond to you, simply adjust so that of those, between 20-30% are from fat.

What is the recommended range of the percentage of fat to use?

You might ask yourself: how many grams of fat should you choose from the recommended 10% range?

This really does take into account the adjustments you make as you go about making your diet, and follow it for a while.

If necessary, you’d cut back to 20% if you saw rapid weight gain, and increase to 30% to compensate for the shortfall.

However, as a start, an intermediate value of 25% would be optimal.

Foods high in fat

How does fat affect the calorie requirement?

As was seen in the case of protein, it is now practically solved, since unlike protein, where we first had to associate a range of intake, according to our condition, gender, and objective…

With fat, we set a value to maintain, for any person, following the condition of not going below that percentage.

Establish the calories you need for your objective, and apply the percentage rule…

What happens if I eat less than 20% of my total calories from fat?

If we risk following a very low fat diet (< 20%) we may eventually experience some of these symptoms:

Poor Vitamin Uptake

Fat-soluble vitamins need fat in order for the body to be able to absorb them.

In this order, vitamins A, D, E and K. They are stored in the liver and adipose tissue, and are essential for a multitude of biological functions, such as being involved in growth, the immune system, cell repair, and blood clotting, among others.

If you don’t eat enough fat, your body will tend to excrete these vitamins, with dire consequences for your health

Mental Illness

A diet that is low in fat, especially one that lacks essential fatty acids, can do some damage to your mental health.

Omega 3 and 6 are the essential fatty acids that the body supplies for cognitive, mood and behavioural functions (especially DHA). They are precursors to a certain amount of hormones produced in the brain.

Increases Cancer Risk

Types of colon, breast and prostate cancer have some correlation with low essential fatty acid intakes.

Increased Cholesterol and Heart Disease Risk

Fats play a regulatory role, although it seems controversial, in the treatment of cholesterol.

If your diet is low in fat, your HDL (‘good’) cholesterol level will be lower. This is completely undesirable, as it directly increases the risk of a heart attack.

HDL ‘collects’ LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol) from the blood, where it is transported to the liver for excretion. If the HDL is out of balance with the LDL, the latter tends to increase. Omega-3 acids contribute to increasing HDL.

Low level of Testosterone

Low-fat diets are strongly associated with decreased synthesis of this anabolic hormone.

In particular, cholesterol is one of the substances involved in this process, creating testosterone, thus reducing fat consumption. Saturated fat is the most important for testosterone.

Related Entries

• Guide to Essential Fatty acids
• How many calories does it take to build muscle?
• Good fats and bad fats
• Advice to increase Testosterone
• Top 10 foods to increase testosterone