It is a common misconception that fats are bad for us in that they can cause weight gain in an uncontrolled manner. Not all fats are bad and we need certain type of fats for our general well-being.
Understanding Your Fats: The Good, The Bad, and The Essential
To cut through the confusion, we can break dietary fats into three distinct categories based on how they affect your heart and metabolic health:
The Good (Unsaturated Fats): Found in nuts, seeds, traditional cold-pressed oils, and avocados. These are liquid at room temperature and actively work to lower harmful LDL cholesterol while supporting brain health and hormone production.
The Stable (Saturated Fats): Found in traditional ingredients like pure A2 cow ghee or coconut oil. When consumed in moderation as part of an active lifestyle, these provide steady energy and stable fuel for cooking.
The Ugly (Trans Fats & Hydrogenated Oils): Found in commercial bakery items, deep-fried fast food, and highly processed snacks. These are industrially altered oils that damage blood vessels and increase inflammation.
The consumption of fats in the right amount is crucial. Triglycerides, cholesterol and other essential fatty acids are some nutrients that we need (a certain minimum amount) to function, store energy, insulate and protect our vital organs. The fats food group has been classified into unsaturated fats, trans fats and saturated fats based on whether it impacts our bodies in a good or bad way.
Unsaturated fats are further classified into polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, which both, when eaten in moderation, can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Examples of good, healthy food rich in monounsaturated fats are avocados, canola oil, olives, monounsaturated margarine spreads, egg yolk and most nuts like almonds, peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias and pistachios, etc.,
Most vegetable and seed oils like sunflower, soybean and corn, polyunsaturated margarine spreads, linseeds, some nuts like walnuts, brazil nuts, pecan and pine nuts, wheat germ, oily fish and fish oils are great examples of sources of polyunsaturated fats.
Ironically, food rich in good sources of unsaturated fats is actually necessary for us to lose weight and the fat mass percentage in our bodies. The fats to avoid are trans-fats or saturated fats. These kinds of fats are often found in packaged food such as French fries, cake mixes and packaged Ramen noodles.
Transfats as well as Saturated fats will raise our low-density lipoproteins (LDL-bad cholesterol) and lower our high-density lipoprotein (HDL-good cholesterol).
Examples of foods high in saturated fats are fatty meats (beef, pork and lamb), chicken skin, butter, cream, full cream milk, cheese, ice-cream, lard, palm oil, chocolate, deep-fried foods, as well as take away and fast foods. Foods like biscuits, cakes, pastries, and doughnuts are rich in trans-fats and should be avoided, too.
The daily consumption of such foods can be extremely harmful to us. An increased amount of LDL cholesterol can result in an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Whereas, HDL cholesterol, which is sourced from good, unsaturated fats, can take bad cholesterol (LDL) from various parts of the body and take it back to the liver hence reducing the LDL. This is how HDL actually helps to reduce the LDL level.
Health Authority Insight:
"Dietary fats are essential to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They also help protect your organs and help keep your body warm. The key is to focus on replacing saturated and trans fats with healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats." - American Heart Association (AHA)
How to Effortlessly Fuel Your Day with Healthy Fats
Meeting your daily requirement for clean, unrefined fats shouldn’t mean overthinking your meals or tracking every gram. Traditional Indian snacking naturally perfected the art of delivering healthy unsaturated fats without the garbage.
Instead of reaching for a processed "diet biscuit" made with hidden trans fats or refined palm oil, upgrade your pantry with whole-food alternatives:
The Perfect Nut-Rich Fuel: True wellness relies on the essential fatty acids found in premium nuts and seeds. Our traditional Peanut Barfi and Coconut Laddu are crafted with whole, natural ingredients and unrefined jaggery, offering a rich source of healthy unsaturated fats that keep you full and energized without a sugar crash.
Active Nutrition on the Go: For high-performance days, our Sports Nutrition Bars pair plant protein with heart-healthy fats from premium nuts and seeds (like almonds, walnuts, and flaxseeds) to actively support joint lubrication, cellular health, and sustained stamina.
In the short term, our brain functions are hindered by the heavy consumption of bad, saturated fats, and in long-term, a consistent diet involving such fats can lead to various diseases and disorders like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, and osteoporosis. It is therefore highly advised to be more mindful of the type of fats that we consume on a regular basis, and to ensure that we include them in the moderation.
