Like a lot of things in life, a little bit of cholesterol goes a long way. It’s necessary for the manufacture of vitamin D, certain hormones and cell membranes. It originates in animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs. Other related factors also play a role in how the body uses cholesterol. Animal fats contain complex, saturated mixtures of triglycerides, which function as a store for unused calories. These fats are used when the body needs energy between meals. However, beyond that they become unhealthy and high levels of triglycerides in the blood stream are linked with atherosclerosis – hardening of the arteries – and the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as pancreatits, which can lead to diabetes, and damage other organs including heart, lungs and kidneys.

High levels of triglycerides can be of genetic origin, but most are from acquired sources including a diet high in fat, carbohydrates (sugar), excessive alcohol consumption, poorly controlled diabetes and the use of corticosteroids. Women (exogenous estrogens) and diabetics are most at risk.
To reduce blood cholesterol and triglycerides levels, here’s what you should do:

• Establish short and long term goals.
• Follow a diet low in saturated fat. Less than 7% of daily energy needs should come from animal fat and consume fewer than 200 mg of cholesterol per day.
• Start a regular exercise program to reduce body fat and raise your fitness level.
• Maintain an appropriate body weight and reduce stress.
• If necessary, prescribed medications can help.

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Dangers of high cholesterol

So what are the benefits of saturated fat? Yes - that ‘s right, saturated fat. Putting anti-fat hysteria aside, saturated fat can offer some particular health benefits – as part of a balanced sensible diet.

• Saturated fats are highly stable, and not likely to turn into free radicals or go rancid when exposed to heat, oxygen, or light. So these are great to cook with and better than synthetic hydrogenated fats such as trans fats, which are essentially poisonous to the body.

• Saturated fats positively affect hormonal function. Free Testosterone levels tend to be higher in those who include saturated fats in their diet. This is an added bonus for a body builder as it helps with muscle growth and tissue repair.

• Saturated fats help your tissues retain omega-3 fatty acids better and help convert omega-3 to its final usable form (DHA).

• Saturated fats strengthen our immune system. Lauric acid is a saturated fat and is noteworthy for its ability to strengthen the immune system. Lauric acid is found in large quantities in coconut oil.

• Saturated fats strengthen the liver. The liver is called on every day to deal with all the toxins we eat, drink, and breathe in. There have been many animal studies demonstrating that beef tallow (beef fat) protects against alcohol induced liver injury.

• Animal fats contain fat-soluble vitamins and allow for their uptake.

• Saturated fats help your cholesterol profile and can help you live longer. If you replace carbs in your diet with saturated fat, you can expect lower triglyceride levels. As If you eat an excess of carbs, your liver converts them to fat (triglycerides), and then returns them right into the bloodstream.

• Fats such as those found in butterfat from cows and goats milk are antimicrobial and serve as great sources of energy; they break down and are readily absorbed directly from the small intestine to the liver for a quick conversion to energy, instead of needing bile salts to emulsify them.

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The importance of dietary fat

Good fats to eat

Nowadays, supermarkets are aware that to sell products they need to put signs on products that people don’t want to buy because they are fattening saying “low fat” or “lower fat” but what does that actually mean.  ”Lower fat” can mean it is just slightly lower fat than previously but on a product like butter or ice cream this can mean it is still very high in fat even when it is lower fat.  ”Low fat” can mean it is low fat for this kind of product but can still be high fat.  You need to look at the actual fat per gram and what type of fat saturated or unsaturated.  Remember these signs are put on there to make you buy the products don’t get confused thinking this is a good reason to purchase it, if you bought all low fat products you can still put on a lot of weight.  Chocolate is always fatty even when it says low fat, so are cakes and butter.

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Nutrition mistakes

1. Caloric dense- With 9 calories per gram fat is a more concentrated energy source than both protein and carbs.  In order to put on mass you need to be taking in lots of calories.  Because fat is so packed with calories it helps people who find putting on weight very hard, find it a lot easier.
2. Insulation- fat is essential for keeping the body warm and protecting vital organs from damage.
3. Hormone balancing- fat helps keep hormone levels in check and regulates blood glucose levels and insulin response.
4. Aids digestion- fat helps carry fat soluble nutrients to the body.

So what are the good sources of fat I should be eating?

1. Omega 3 fatty acids- salmon, soybean and flax seed oil
2. Monounsaturated fats- olive oil, cashews and almonds
3. Polyunsaturated fats- sunflower, soybean oils

As you can see fats are not to be neglected as they have their role in our bodies health.  Even saturated fats, yes that’s right saturated fats are great for testosterone production and keeping a strong skeleton.

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