Fat cholesterol is harmful to health, should we stay away from it in our diet? 6 common senses that everyone is familiar with may be misunderstood

Most people avoid foods rich in fat and cholesterol, because in the previous common sense, eating such foods may increase the risk of many diseases, such as hyperlipidemia, heart disease, stroke , vascular diseases, etc. Therefore, for more than ten years, many people have chosen low-fat foods, such as eating egg whites instead of egg yolks, eating skimmed dairy products, etc., hoping to improve health, lose weight, and even lose weight through such a diet. regain health.

However, in research in recent years, medical personnel have found that eating foods that contain more fat or cholesterol does not necessarily lead to increased blood lipids, thereby affecting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular organs, and some cholesterol-rich foods may also be beneficial to health , so what are some of the misconceptions we have about dietary fat and cholesterol? Today let us learn about 6 misunderstood common sense about fat and cholesterol.

01

Does eating fat make you gain weight?

In our common sense, eating high-fat food will make you gain weight and become fat. This is a misunderstanding. In fact, excessive intake of any food, including nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, and fat, will make people fat, but if the diet is balanced and the calorie intake is appropriate, it will not make people fat. Gain weight, even if you eat a high-fat diet.

An American high school teacher once conducted an experiment. He chose to eat three meals at a McDonald's fast food restaurant for a month. We all think that the food in fast food restaurants like McDonald's is high-fat and high-calorie food. If you eat it for a long time, you will definitely gain weight. But after the teacher ate continuously for a month, he lost weight instead. The reason is that he reasonably matched the meals in McDonald's to ensure balanced nutrition and control the total daily calorie intake.

In addition, surveys by many health and nutrition institutions have shown that eating high-fat foods, including eggs, avocados, nuts, and full-fat dairy products, may also help improve satiety and reduce weight, such as ketogenic diets in weight loss methods The diet and the low-carb diet, both high-fat diets, have been shown to promote weight loss.

Of course, a high-fat diet does not mean eating all high-fat foods. You must also pay attention to the quality of your diet. Processed high-fat foods should still be avoided, such as high-fat foods containing sugar, baking, frying, and barbecue Foods should be avoided, as eating such foods may lead to weight gain.

02

Are Cholesterol-Rich Foods Unhealthy?

Many people think that eating cholesterol-rich foods, such as eggs, seafood, animal offal, and full-fat dairy products, is bad for your health, but this is not the case.

Many high-cholesterol foods are very nutritious. Egg yolks are high in cholesterol, and there are many vitamins and minerals needed by the human body. Full-fat dairy products have more protein and calcium. In addition, for offal products, such as animal liver , although it contains more cholesterol, it also contains a variety of trace elements, such as copper, vitamin A, and vitamin B12. As long as 20-30g of animal liver is consumed, it can supplement the daily intake of adults.

Of course, any food should not be taken too much, and foods rich in cholesterol should also be appropriate. Under the condition of ensuring balanced nutrition, a sufficient amount of cholesterol is really beneficial to health. For example, normal people eat 1 egg a day and Will not bring a burden to health. However, you should also limit certain cholesterol-rich foods, such as ice cream, fried foods, and processed meats.

03

Can Saturated Fat Cause Heart Disease?

The topic of saturated fat's effect on the heart has been a hot topic of debate, but recent studies have shown no significant correlation between saturated fat intake and heart disease.

It is true that an increase in saturated fat in the human body increases the risk of heart disease. For example, an increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) can increase the risk of heart disease, but saturated fat intake may also increase heart-protecting high-density lipoprotein. Cholesterol (HDL). In addition, many larger medical studies have shown that there is not much correlation between saturated fat intake and heart attack and death.

Therefore, medical experts believe that since different types of saturated fat have different effects on human health, when it comes to overall human health and disease risk, the most important thing is to look at the entire diet, not just the intake of saturated fat.

04

Eating fat increases diabetes risk

Doctors generally advise patients with type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes to maintain a low-fat diet when eating, which is generally believed to mean that eating too much fat may increase the risk of diabetes. But in fact, scientific research believes that not all fatty foods may lead to an increase in the risk of diabetes.

Fatty foods such as fish fat, full-fat dairy products, avocados, olive oil, and nuts can improve blood sugar and insulin levels and have some ability to prevent the progression of diabetes. And other high-fat foods, such as trans fats, baked bread with more fat, snacks, etc., may increase the risk of disease.

Through this, everyone should be able to understand that the food that can increase the risk of diabetes is mainly what we usually call junk food. This kind of food will not only bring people high fat, but also may bring more sugar and calories. The main reason for the risk of diabetes.

A 2019 study of 2,139 people by the U.S. Institute of Health found no association between animal and plant fat or total fat intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the most important factor in reducing the risk of diabetes is the overall composition of the diet, rather than a single fat.

05

Should women avoid high-fat, high-cholesterol foods during pregnancy?

Generally speaking, for pregnant women, many people will tell them to avoid high-fat and high-cholesterol foods during pregnancy, because they are afraid that eating too much high-fat and high-cholesterol will cause pregnant women to gain weight, which is not good for the health of them and their fetuses. But the truth is, eating fat during pregnancy is important.

Because pregnant women have a great increase in the demand for fat-soluble nutrients, such as vitamin A and choline, and omega-3 during this period, they need to be supplemented or transformed by intake of fat, and the formation of the fetal brain also needs fat nutrition for normal development. For example, DHA, also known as docosahexaenoic acid, is a fatty acid found primarily in fish fat that plays a key role in fetal brain and vision development, and low levels of DHA in maternal blood may cause fetal Impaired neurodevelopment, this type of nutrition can only be taken in from fatty foods and is difficult to find in other foods.

In addition, egg yolk is rich in choline, which is also an important nutrient for fetal brain and vision development, and full-fat dairy products can provide calcium and vitamin K2, both of which are essential nutrients for bone development.

Therefore, fat-rich foods are very important for the health of the fetus and the mother. In fact, pregnant women have the ability to self-regulate during pregnancy. For example, which foods she wants to eat are often a sign of physical deficiency, but don’t eat too much , keeping the right amount is the healthiest.

06

Are low-fat or fat-free products the best choice for health?

In supermarkets, we can often see a lot of low-fat or fat-free foods, such as skim milk, low-fat biscuits, low-fat potato chips, etc. These products are generally bought by women who want to lose weight. People who want to improve their taste will buy them. Although low-fat foods sound healthy, they are actually not conducive to overall health, because these foods are not only low in fat, but also low in other nutrients, only high in calories and sugar. Excessive intake can lead to weight gain and metabolic abnormalities. Long-term consumption may lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

Moreover, many fat-free products are processed foods, which contain more preservatives, artificial colors, etc. Long-term consumption of such foods will also cause these additives to accumulate in the body, which will cause the metabolic burden of organs. So, rather than trying to reduce your calorie intake by choosing highly processed, fat-free products, enjoying small amounts of whole, nutritious fats with your meals and snacks can do a better job of promoting overall health.

In daily life, fat and cholesterol are often called unhealthy by many people, but in fact this is a misunderstanding. The reason why health problems occur due to eating foods rich in fat and cholesterol is caused by unbalanced dietary intake. Many people Because of taste preferences, only a single nutrient is taken in, without consideration of the overall nutritional status, resulting in damage to health. Fat or cholesterol should not be responsible for this "black pot".

Fat and cholesterol are both nutrients needed by the human body. Appropriate and balanced intake will also bring health to the human body. When considering whether a diet will cause health problems, you should consider the overall diet instead of looking at a single one. of food consumption.

Jingshan Pagoda talks about health