What do we need fat for? What is body fat for? Fats are needed for ... Energy

To maintain your figure in perfect shape, you need to carefully monitor your diet. Each meal should contain the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates necessary for the human body. Before you refuse a certain food, think about why our body needs certain substances. Today we will talk about why fat is needed, what is its use, and what is its harm, what foods contain and which ones should be discarded.

Fats are, first of all, energy!

For any organism, these substances are energy suppliers. Carbohydrates and proteins also produce energy, but it is fats that produce twice as much energy. There are about nine kilocalories of energy per gram of fat. Every cell in our body contains this substance.

What is fat for? It is indispensable in metabolism, and also performs protective functions for our body. The peculiarity of the substance is that it is stored in reserve, but at the same time supplies the body with the necessary nutrients, saturates a person with energy and saves from hypothermia, as it performs the function of thermoregulation.

What are the types of dietary fats?

There are the following fatty acid:

1. Saturated or extreme.
2. Unsaturated, respectively unsaturated.

The first of animal origin. They are solid. These include stearic, butyric, palmitic acids.

Second vegetable. They have liquid form(oils). These are arachidonic, linoleic, oleic, linolenic acids. They are essential for the human body to function properly.

Polyunsaturated fats

Why are fats needed in the diet? These fatty acids are necessary for every person, regardless of age and gender. They help the body grow and develop correct work internal organs, have a positive effect on muscles, blood, are involved in the work of enzymes.

The lack of such acids leads to depletion of the body. Human body lacks energy, forms peptic ulcer gastrointestinal tract.

But do not think that a lot means good. An excess of polyunsaturated fatty acids can lead to coronary thrombosis, which can threaten a person's life. The body should consume about 15 grams of such fats per day (about 1.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil).

Foods rich in linolenic and linoleic acid

Most of these acids contain sunflower oil (about 60%). A good proportion of them can be found in soybean, cottonseed and corn oils (about 50%). Well known to all olive oil contains only 14% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Animal fats contain only a small proportion of linoleic acid, for example, in butter about 4%.

Where can you find arachidonic fatty acid?

This acid is capable of producing the largest number energy for man. The list of products containing it is small, but the body requires up to five grams per day of its use. It is found in animal fats, but in a meager amount. in butter or lard its share is not more than 0.2-2%.

Sufficient quantity arachidonic acid in fish oil (about 30%), as well as in marine fish. Vegetable fats do not contain this acid, but human body is able to process linoleic acid into it and thereby cover its needs.

Do bad fats exist in the body?

Yes! These are fat-like substances. There are 50 to 90 grams of sterols per person (organic substances involved in fat metabolism) and about 97% is cholesterol. At the same time, this substance is distributed unevenly throughout the body. A negligible amount contains the liver - 1%, a little blood - 6%, but most of all cholesterol is contained in nervous tissue. An excess of the substance leads to atherosclerosis, which is mainly caused by in a sedentary manner life and overeating. Yes, and our food, which we love so much, contains a huge amount of this substance. These are a variety of processed cheeses, egg yolk, fish fat, beef liver, butter. A blood test will help to identify the presence of cholesterol, and if the indicators are too high, then the above food should be discarded. Plant sterols, which are found in vegetable oil, bran and cereals, will help lower cholesterol levels.

Subcutaneous fat: what is it for?

The fat is located under top layer skin. What is fat for? After all, many are trying to get rid of excess adipose tissue and a sagging belly. Diets are now in the first place for most beauties. Cellulite looks ugly, however, there are many functions of fats in the body. The first and main is the maintenance of mental and physical activity. With a lack of energy, the body begins to actively burn fat cells, thereby obtaining the necessary activity for themselves. Fats are always stored in reserve in case of a hunger strike or intense physical exertion.

What is body fat for? Fat under the skin protects internal organs from outside influences. Softens the force of impact during a fall, puts a block from exposure to high temperatures and warms in cold weather conditions. Animals living in northern latitudes have a thick fatty layer. Fats make the epidermis elastic and protect against tearing. Subcutaneous fat contributes to the retention of heat in the body. Obese people have a hard time in hot weather. They sweat profusely, feel insecure and uncomfortable.

What else is fat for? He accumulates useful material. First of all, these are vitamins A, E and D - they are fat-soluble. Also accumulated in adipose tissue female hormones, which is why men with an excess of it have feminine outlines.

How much fat should the human body contain?

For women, the ideal content is from 15 to 30%, for men it is slightly less - from 14 to 25%. Measure content subcutaneous fat can be done in several ways:

1. The simplest, but not the most exact method are ordinary floor digital scales. You just need to stand on them and look at the result displayed on the screen.
2. Using a body fat measurement tool. It's called a caliper. The data obtained is compared with a special table. The measurement area is the navel area (10 cm in one direction or another). Fat fold fixed and measured with a caliper. The result obtained is shown in the table.
3. Immerse yourself in a bath of water. The volume of water displaced is compared with the weight and the percentage of fat is calculated. The method is the most accurate, but it is problematic to carry it out at home, so you will need the help of specialists.

What are the dangers of being overweight?

We found out the importance of fats in the body, but what if there are more of them than necessary? Excess fat not only spoils you visually, but also threatens your health. disturbed hormonal background in men entails sexual dysfunction. The level of testosterone decreases, and the man becomes like a woman.

Excess weight is accompanied by diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension and osteoarthritis. Fat violates motor activity, since it is superimposed great pressure on the spine and joints.

What is dangerous lack of adipose tissue?

biological significance fat in the human body is to protect it. For women, the lack of fat is detrimental, since it is the female body that synthesizes and accumulates the hormone estrogen. With an insufficient amount of fat, the menstrual cycle which threatens the woman with infertility. Underweight women and girls constantly feel tired, drowsy, cold, their skin deteriorates.

We have comprehensively looked at why a person needs fats, but if you want to slightly reduce their amount, then before you start a weight loss course, remember that body fat distributed in the body in different ways. Genes and body type play a big role. In women, fat predominates in the abdomen, buttocks and thighs. In men, it is the belly and rib cage. In order to burn fat, you must use the following tips:

1. Reduce or completely eliminate foods that stimulate the formation of fat from the diet. These include fatty meat, bakery products, sweets, drinks containing gases.
2. Build your meals on complex carbohydrates and good squirrel. These are chicken, turkey, durum wheat pasta, rice, buckwheat and, of course, vegetables.
3. Food should be taken up to six times a day, at regular intervals, in small portions. With a small calorie intake, the body will process food immediately, and not store it as fat reserves.
4. Lead active image life, move more. Fat accumulates gradually, so getting rid of it is also worth leisurely. If you follow the diet and engage in physical activity, then the result will surely please. The best fat burners are swimming, cycling and running.
5. Pay attention to your appearance - massage, cold and hot shower, bath.
6. Do not quit what you have started, sometimes even a month is not enough for the weight to move down. Think, after all, you have been gaining your weight for years, harmony will not come immediately either.
7. Be aware of the problems of fat deficiency. Have time to stop in time, do not get carried away with diets.
8. Don't forget about rest. You need to sleep at least 7 hours, because it is sleep that restores strength, improves metabolic processes.

As we learned, there are many functions of fats in the body, and they all play a role important roles In human life. The main thing is to remember that both an excess and a lack of fat negatively affect the body. Therefore, love yourself, keep your shape, do not give up - and then you will have an ideal body, and with it health. Do not starve yourself, during this period the fat will really go away, but it will leave behind a bouquet of diseases, problems with the skin, bones, teeth and hair. Do not ruin yourself, lose weight correctly and usefully!

Hello my dear girls. Today I decided to tell you about why fats are needed in the human body. Of course, in the first seconds after you read these words, you will think to yourself: what an absurdity, why might you need fat, if many of the women by all means and diets are trying, on the contrary, to get rid of it!?

But girls we will talk about other fats. About those without which our body cannot fully function. Today we will see with you which of them are the most necessary, from what they can be obtained, and what quantity can be considered optimal.

No matter how we scolded, fat is the main source of energy for our body. They come with food, and take an active part in metabolic processes. Of course, we need to distinguish healthy fats from those that harm our body and contribute to the development of diseases. Healthy fats perform the following functions:

• Energy function. Performing this function, they create fat deposits, which in turn serve as some kind of "ammunition", a reserve energy reserve for our body.
• Heat insulating function of fats. They protect our body from hypothermia in the cold season.
• protective function. Our internal organs are covered with a thin layer of fat, which allows them to be more protected.
• In addition, without them, the production of numerous hormones in the body is impossible.
• Our cells are 30% fat
• Without fat, it is impossible to absorb vitamins A, D, E, K. Few of us know what it is. fat soluble vitamins, and only in such an environment can be absorbed by the body
• For the full functioning of the brain, fats are also necessary, and, with a lack of this element in the brain cells, there is a threat of developing various diseases.

Healthy fats

As I said, fats are useful and not very. First, let's see what products you can get by using necessary for the body useful.

On the scientific language they are called unsaturated. And they are useful in many aspects:

• Reduce blood cholesterol levels
• They cleanse our blood vessels and restore their elasticity
• Normalize blood pressure
• Prevent the formation of blood clots
• They are an excellent prevention of strokes and heart attacks
• Accelerate bone recovery after fractures
• Improve general state ligaments

• Unrefined olive, sunflower and soybean oils. Great amount these fats contain linseed oil, rapeseed and cottonseed oils, fish oil
• Almond
• Walnuts
• Seeds
• Peanut
• Cashew nuts
• Olives
• poultry meat
• wild bird meat
• avocado fruit

Fat and excess weight

Now let's move on to the most unpleasant topic for us: fat, and excess weight that comes from eating fat. You and I know perfectly well that after eating food, our body automatically stores and hides in its hidden corners the fat contained in it, so to speak, for a rainy day. And you can’t explain to him that you are on a diet, and it’s not necessary to do this.

But, in fact, this is not entirely true, to be more precise, our body constantly needs energy, and it receives it from the food we eat.

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy. They break down very quickly, and release a large amount of energy. When we eat little carbohydrates, the body begins to take energy from stored fats, and the accumulation is not very intense.

Therefore, people who try to eat properly and balancedly do not suffer from excess weight, or they can easily regulate it.

But girls and women, exhausting themselves with all kinds of diets, cause disturbances in their body, and because of the aggressive environment that they create in it, the body begins to take revenge and accumulate all the fat that enters the body.

Saturated or unhealthy fats

Now let's talk about what products contain saturated fat and harm our body. And they harm because they are solid, and are poorly absorbed by our body. And the consequences of this can be the most serious:

1. The first is an increase in the level of cholesterol in the blood. We all have heard this nasty word, and we know perfectly well that a large amount of it harms the body.
2. Secondly, they interfere with the process of splitting harmful fats, and contribute to their accumulation in the body. And all this leads to overweight and dilated vessels

Bad fats are found in the following foods:

• Mutton
• fatty beef
• Lard
• Palm oil
• egg yolks
• Milk, dairy products
• Chocolate
• Butter, coconut oil
• Shrimps and lobsters

Surely everyone was scared when they saw foods that we girls love very much on the list of unhealthy fats. Girls, you don't have to worry we are talking not about completely eliminating these products from the diet, I myself perfectly understand that without chocolate my life will lose color. It only talks about limiting their consumption to reasonable limits.

So, girls, we eat all sorts of sweets, but remember that each of them leaves its part in our body, and there is no guarantee that in a year we ourselves will not become like a delicious sweet donut.

Therefore, at every meal we know the measure, and at night we close the refrigerator with a lock, and give the keys to my husband, provided that under no pretext will he give it to us before 6 in the morning.

Signs of insufficient fat

Of course, an excess of fat is not good for us. But, if there is not enough of them, then our body will immediately sound the alarm. To understand that this is anxiety, you can by the following signs:

• The skin becomes dry and flaky because it lacks the moisture produced by healthy fats.
• Hair will start to fall out in large quantities
• You will drop sharply muscle mass body
• You will become very intolerant of the cold.
• Very often, even the slightest blow will be accompanied by bruises.
• Your immune system weakens and you often get sick
• You have bad and long healing received, even the smallest wounds
• Constant feeling of tiredness and very slow recovery after exercise

Let's summarize

Well, girls, I hope that I was able to fully answer the question: “why do we need fats in our body?”. If not for them, we would have had a very hard time enduring the winter frosts, and would often get sick. Do you feel what a good excuse I gave you in case you are asked why you gained those extra pounds?

Many legends and myths are known about the role of fats for humans. Therefore, there are two extremes in relation to fats. One is the complete denial of fats, and the use of only fat-free foods. The other extreme is that there are fatty foods for dinner, lunch and breakfast.

However, only individual characteristics, season, age and other factors determine what and how much fat to eat. For their own good, a person needs to determine the “fat content” of his diet himself. Rely on the basic concepts in fat metabolism.

The digestive tract and the breakdown of fats in it.

Intestinal juice reacts with fat droplets, breaks them down into fatty acids and glycerol. In the small intestine, fatty acids and glycerol are absorbed by the intestinal villi, and the synthesis of fats characteristic of humans occurs. After that, small droplets of fat pass into lymphatic system and only after that - in the blood. The blood stream distributes fats throughout the body, participating in metabolism.

To improve the absorption of fats by the body, the following rules must be observed:

2. Requires constant maintenance gallbladder and liver.

3. No need to drink food with any drinks or water. From this diluted digestive juice and food is washed off into those parts of the intestine where the breakdown of fats is not so effective.

What is the role of fats in the body?

1. Fats are needed to form connective tissues and cell membranes.

2. Adipose tissue this is support for internal organs (kidneys, liver, heart). And at thin man organs are displaced, their activity is disturbed.

3. Components of fats (fatty unsaturated acids) help remove excess cholesterol from the body.

4. Also, fats increase permeability and elasticity of blood vessel walls.

5. Fats contain fat-soluble vitamins D,E,A needed by the body.

6. Due lack fat in food worsening heart function. State skin gets worse.

7. Fats take part in hormone synthesis- these are substances necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

Fats are different.

2. Vegetable oils contain unsaturated fats , they are also found in some types of sea fish, nuts. Such fats do not freeze at room temperature even in a simple refrigerator. The most famous ingredients unsaturated fat- Omega-6 and Omega-3, polyunsaturated fatty acids. All the benefits of fats are also possible from unsaturated fatty acids. Most importantly, the body does not produce unsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, linseed oil, oil walnuts, canola oil, nuts, marine oily fish from the northern seas should be in human food.

3. Trans fats - worst kind fat, harmful in any concentration in the body. Appears when vegetable fat is heated to a high temperature in the presence of hydrogen. This type of fat is widely used in sauces, fatty ketchups, industrial sweets, and semi-finished products.

Conclusion: the key to health is to treat fatty foods in a balanced way. Avoid trans fats, keep saturated fats to a minimum, and eat wisely unsaturated fats.

basis proper diet is understanding the difference between harmful and healthy fats how they act on the human body, how animals vegetable fats are really harmful to health.

Minimizing or cutting out fat is a major mistake many people make when they start dieting. diet food. Butter is replaced with margarine, whole milk- low fat. Instead of fried, they start eating steam food. This is due to the connection that a person finds for himself between the fat consumed with food and the fat on the body.

This tactic is wrong. Low fat foods most often more harmful than their counterparts. They are devoid of fat, but contain simple carbohydrates. Balanced and healthy diet implies the obligatory presence of fats, but only the right ones. exclude this important element from the diet is not possible.

Unsaturated and saturated fats

Fatty acids, which are fats, differ in the number of carbon atoms. Each fat of vegetable or animal origin is a mixture of dozens of fatty acids, the most common of which, to varying degrees, are five to seven.

The classification of fats, as a rule, has no connection with the number of carbon atoms. It is most often due to "saturation" with hydrogen atoms, that is, the absence or presence of free bonds. Trans fats are fatty acids with chemically identical but geometrically different formulas.

The value of fatty acids is determined by how they are absorbed and digested. Fats, the number of carbon atoms in which does not exceed 15, the body absorbs from the intestines, spends on metabolic processes. They make up the fourth part cow's milk, eighty percent coconut oil.

Coconut fat is considered dietary due to the fact that it is difficult to convert into body fat. This quality makes palm refined oil, from which margarine is produced, quite dangerous. He is a trans fat low quantity carbon oils immediately enters the bloodstream, making it unhealthy.

Omega-3, -6 and -9

They are fatty acids having 18 carbon atoms, present in any kind of oil and fat, prevailing over other substances. Depending on the position of the double chain in the structure, they are Omega-3, -6 or -9.

The latter are considered neutral, occupying the second place in the body after Omega-6. They are present in olive, corn and avocado oils, egg yolks and beef tallow.

Omega-3 to Omega-6 Ratio

The balance of these two fatty acids is of paramount importance. Omega-3 is not synthesized in the body, but is necessary to maintain immune system, work of the cerebral cortex, exercise metabolic processes. It is these fatty acids that are considered the most useful. Them positive influence on the body is reduced to a minimum in the presence of Omega-6.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the concentration of Omega-3 in food is minimal. Half, and sometimes even a little more, of the composition of corn and vegetable oils belongs to Omega-6. Therefore, as a result of cooking, their ratio is shifted, which leads to metabolic disorders.

Animal fat - good or bad?

The composition of animal fat is a combination of various fatty acids, the concentration of which depends on the nutrition of the animal. Cows kept in industrial environment give corn. This increases the percentage of Omega-6 in the resulting product. Therefore, the actual situation may differ from the table data.

Saturated animal fat is called palmitic acid. It contains 16 carbon atoms. Its excess in the diet provokes the development of many pathological conditions. Palmitic acid is 25-30% of general composition fat in butter, about 20-25% egg yolk and beef fat.

Bad and good fats

Health hazards are corn and sunflower oil, whose fat profile is 50-60 percent represented by Omega-6. Depending on what the animal is fed in industrial conditions, these fatty acids may be present in chicken and beef meat.

Oil from olives and avocados is more useful than analogues from sunflower and corn, as it contains Omega-9. The best way to fry food is coconut oil which tolerates well high temperatures. Animal saturated fats become truly dangerous when abused and imbalanced in nutrition.

Conclusion

Oils and fats are important for metabolism and health. And in order to avoid numerous problems, you need to maintain a balance in the diet, be able to recognize the fat profile of the source of fat.

Video review

Fat deposits on our body are normal rate defensive reaction organism. Not so much a defensive reaction as, more correctly, a natural survival mechanism. From time immemorial, it was fat that allowed a person, and indeed any living creature, to survive in severe cold, when it was necessary to wait out the time from harvest to the next. But today there is no such need, and fat still continues to accumulate. What is the mechanism of its deposition? How not to gain excess fat?

First of all, carbohydrates are processed into fat cells, in particular, simple sugars. Of course, carbohydrates are necessary for the body, as well as many other substances. They are deposited in the muscles - and this is the main source of energy for strength work, and for any physical activity. But the most that can accumulate in muscle tissues is from 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates, and another 70-80 grams can be deposited in the liver. There are no more "reservoirs" for their storage in our body. Therefore, if you use carbohydrates in excess of the norm, they will be transformed into body fat and "settle" in the abdomen, thighs, upper arms and legs, and in women - also in the chest area.

And fat can also be scooped from fat itself. Yes, fats are also needed by our body, especially female body for the normal functioning of the hormonal and cardiovascular systems. But 1 gram of pure fat contains about 10 kcal. That is, in 100 grams of fat - already 1000 kcal, and this figure is already very close to daily rate calorie intake of a losing weight person. Calories from fat are deposited by our body even easier and faster than calories from carbohydrates, since fat is difficult to break down, and as energy it will be wasted last.

Where is fat stored?

Many are accustomed to believing that fat is deposited only under the skin, because it is these deposits that are visible to us with the naked eye. Yes, indeed, most of it will accumulate here, but dermal fat is not only immediately under the skin, but also inside, enveloping the internal organs - this is necessary to maintain them in the right place and protect them. Such fat is called visceral or abdominal - because the most important internal organs are located in the abdomen and sternum. But if visceral fat is more than the required norm, this is already fraught with obesity, problems with cardiovascular system, including heart attacks and strokes, the formation of blood clots in the vessels and varicose veins veins, diabetes and other serious diseases.

How to determine if a lot internal fat?

As we said above, everyone has it in the body, because it is a necessity. Visually, abdominal fat can be recognized when you fail to remove the stomach by any means - it still bulges forward, pushing the abdominal muscles with it. Measure the waist - for a woman from 20 to 40 years old, who has a normal height-to-weight ratio, the waist should be about 70-80 cm in circumference. For a man with the same indicators - about 80-90 cm. If the volumes are larger, then visceral fat accumulates in the abdomen. But it is better to make a diagnosis of the body, or at least stand on the analyzer scales - they can almost accurately measure the percentage of internal fat in the body.

How to remove fat?

If getting rid of subcutaneous fat is not so difficult, then visceral fat will go slower and harder. But it is necessary to fight with its excess in order to maintain healthy state organism and normal work all of its systems. The first commandment is proper nutrition, but by no means physical exercise. It is believed that success in losing weight depends on 50% of training, and 50% of nutrition. But in the fight against internal fat deposits, nutrition plays a role by as much as 70, or even 80%.

Be sure to start by counting calories. You can eat well, eating both proteins, and fats, and carbohydrates, but at the same time you need to reduce the calorie content of your diet and consume about 1500-1800 kcal per day for women, and about 2000-2300 for men. Of course, the first thing to do is to a large number fatty food. The rate of fat in the body can be replenished with natural vegetable unrefined oils (olive, linseed, etc.) and sea ​​fish(red trout, salmon, salmon). Minimize or eliminate simple and harmful carbohydrates(white sugar, sweets, carbonated drinks, packaged juices, pastries and pastries made from white flour), replacing them with complex and healthy ones - cereals and cereals, cereals, whole grain bread, fruits and dried fruits.

Movement is also important, especially aerobic exercise (cardio exercise), as it is they who provide an adequate supply of oxygen to the body. And oxygen is the main assistant in burning fat in cells. Walk more, run in the morning, swim, do aerobics or dance, jump rope, ride a bike, ski, snowboard, rollerblade, etc. It is desirable that the aerobic exercise lasts less than 30-40 minutes, since the first 20 minutes our body draws carbohydrates from the muscles, and only then the fat itself.