你害怕脂肪吗？不要。除了使食物味道良好之外，脂肪还在健康，均衡的饮食中起着重要作用。在这里，我们介绍了有关脂肪及其影响健康目标的基础知识。
FAT BASICS
At 9 calories per gram, fat is the most calorie-dense of the macronutrients (carbs and protein each have 4 grams). This makes sense, since one of the biggest roles of fat is energy storage. Dietary fat is digested into small chains of fatty acids. The fatty acid chains are picked up by intestinal cells, reassembled and packaged into vessels called chylomicrons, which are sent to muscle or fat tissue. Once the chylomicrons arrive, fatty acids are again released to be taken up by muscle and fat cells. If you need energy right away — say you take a walk after dinner — they’ll be used to meet those demands. If you go right to bed, they’ll be stored in fat tissue until they’re needed.
Not surprisingly, significant fat breakdown occurs when your body runs on a calorie deficit. In a healthy adult, calorie deficits occur mainly by restricting calories consumed or by undergoing a tough workout. When this happens, your body taps into its own fat stores, breaking them down for energy through a process called “beta oxidation.” This process requires glucose, which can come from carbohydrates or protein, and is most efficient when you’re mildly restricting calories.
Not only does the body burn fat during calorie deficits, but it also burns fat during normal day-to-day activities. Fat is the primary source of fuel when you engage in low-intensity movements — from sitting in front of the computer to walking the dog. The body does this so it can spare glucose (the good stuff!) for your brain and red blood cells.
WHY WE NEED FAT
Fat is crucial for life — so much so that our bodies figured out a way to make fat even if we eat almost no fat at all. Excess carbs and protein can both be converted into fat and stored as energy. Fat also helps our bodies function correctly in several ways:
1. FAT MAINTAIN HEALTHY CELLS, ORGANS AND BRAINS
保护健康的脂肪含量。它扮演了一个protective role for cells because it’s an important component of every cell’s membrane or “wall” that protects against invaders. It also protects your organs by cushioning them from the impact of everyday living. You also need certain fats to build and maintain a healthy brain, which is about60% fat in composition。
2.脂肪燃料大多数活动
For day-to-day activities — from sitting in front of your computer to walking the dog — fat is the main fuel our bodies burn for energy. Generally, during activity where your heart rate is less than 70% of its maximal rate, fat serves as your body’s primary source of fuel.
Not surprisingly, significant fat breakdown occurs when your body runs on a calorie deficit. When you take in fewer calories than you burn, your body taps into its fat stores, breaking them down for energy through a process called “beta oxidation.” This process requires glucose and is most efficient when you’re mildly restricting calories.
3. FAT HELPS YOU FEEL FULL AND MAINTAIN A MORE STEADY BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL
脂肪有助于释放CCK，这是一种激素，可帮助您在饭后感到满足。将高脂食品与高碳水化合物配对有助于防止血糖快速升高，因为脂肪会减慢消化和碳水化合物进入血液的速度。
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAT
在多种食物中发现脂肪 - 在加工和烹饪过程中自然存在或添加脂肪。天然发生的脂肪往往会在乳制品，鱼类，坚果和种子，油和脂肪水果（想想：橄榄油和鳄梨）中发现。在加工和包装的商品中往往会发现脂肪。在健康方面，并非所有脂肪都是平等的。
Here’s a brief run-down of the common fats found in food:
SATURATED FAT
Solid at room temperature, saturated fat mostly comes from animal sources like meat, particularly red meat, and dairy. Certain plants and their oil are high in saturated fat, such as coconut and palm. Virtually all major health organizations advise us to eat less saturated fat since it raises LDL cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease. This is why themyfitnesspal应用程序将你的饱和脂肪限制设置为小于10%of total calories.
TRANS FAT
食物中发现的大多数反式脂肪是通过服用液体不饱和脂肪并用氢爆炸而制成的，因此它类似于固体饱和脂肪。这使食品更加稳定，更易于烹饪，并允许制造商更换产品中的饱和脂肪。但是，证据表明反式脂肪是您内心最糟糕的事情之一。反式脂肪不仅会增加LDL（坏）胆固醇，而且还会降低HDL（好）胆固醇。MyFitnessPal应用程序将您的反式脂肪目标设置为每天0克。
MONOUNSATURATED (MUFA) AND POLYUNSATURATED FAT (PUFA)
当我们说“健康”脂肪时，这些脂肪是我们的想法，因为它们没有与饱和和反式脂肪相同的心脏病风险。通常，MUFA和PUFA在高脂的植物性食物中发现，例如鳄梨，坚果，种子，橄榄和脂肪鱼，例如鲑鱼，金枪鱼和鲭鱼。
OMEGA-3 AND OMEGA-6
While they’re technically polyunsaturated fats, the omegas deserve a separate call-out since our bodies cannot produce them and we must get these from the foods we eat. Both omega-6 and omega-3 fats play important roles in regulating our immune systems. Omega-3 fat plays an essential role in developing our vision and nervous systems. Adequate intake for adults ranges from 12–17 grams per day for omega-6 fats and 1.1–1.6 grams per day for omega-3 fats. We easily get enough omega-6 fats from the foods we eat because soybean, safflower and corn oil are abundant in our food supply. Omega-3 fats are harder to come by since they’re mostly found in fatty fish; this is partly why we’re advised to eat more seafood by the美国人的饮食指南。
TARGET FAT GOALS
医学研究所（IOM）认为脂肪占总卡路里的20-35％，但根据您的目标，您肯定可以或多或少地吃掉。MyFitnessPal应用程序自动将30％的卡路里分配给脂肪 - 当然，您可以定制此卡路里以满足您的需求。
确定克的脂肪需求：
- Decide what percentage of your calories you want to come from fat. Choose a 20%, 25%, 30% or 35% fat diet. Convert this number into a decimal (for example, 30% is 0.3).
- 将您的“总卡路里目标”（MyFitnessPal应用程序给出的卡路里目标）乘以小数值。这为您提供了脂肪中的卡路里数量。
- 将卡路里的卡路里数量除以9，以获取脂肪的克。
这与您的应用程序中的脂肪目标相匹配吗？如果需要，请调整它。
优化脂肪消耗的方法
1. EAT A MODERATE AMOUNT OF MEAT AND DAIRY
Meat and dairy certainly have a role in any balanced diet, but they shouldn’t make up the majority of your intake since they have saturated fat. Enjoy them in moderation along with plenty of whole grains, vegetables and fruit.
2.与营养丰富的食物搭配
食用脂肪以及富含脂溶性维生素和矿物质的食物，使您的身体可以更好地吸收它们。一个很好的例子：使用高脂沙拉调味料来最大程度地吸收您从沙拉中蔬菜中的维生素和矿物质吸收。
3.选择高omega-3脂肪中的食物
饮食中的大多数脂肪为我们提供了大量的omega-6脂肪，但是我们应该在Omega-6和Omega-3之间取得更好的平衡。两种脂肪都在控制炎症方面发挥作用，因此，重要的是我们得到两者的良好比例。
4.改变您的食用油
Different cooking oils provide varying amounts of saturated fat, MUFA and PUFA, plus they impart different flavors and aroma to your food. To get the maximum benefit in a budget-savvy way, purchase olive oil (for low-heat cooking) and canola oil (for high-heat cooking). Olive oil provides valuable MUFA and omega-6 fats, but canola also has a decent amount of omega-3 fats.
5.吃丰富健康脂肪的食物
Focus your diet on monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as those listed below:
3 FAT MYTHS, DEBUNKED
营养领域已经从90年代的脂肪恐惧中恢复过来。万一这些古老的信念中的任何一个潜伏在您的脑海中，我们希望非常清楚。
1.吃脂肪会让你脂肪
您的身体主要来自多余的卡路里。如果有过量的卡路里，即使这些卡路里来自碳水化合物或蛋白质，您的身体也完全能够将其变成脂肪以存放。
2.您的身体在运动过程中仅使用碳水化合物
Your body burns a combination of carbs, fat and protein. Fat is the fuel of choice at rest and during low-intensity exercise (e.g. exercising at less than 70% maximal heart rate). Your body’s fuel of choice shifts to carbs when you exercise harder — at a moderately intense pace and beyond.
3. EATING LOW-FAT AND NONFAT FOODS SAVES CALORIES
与标签可能告诉您的内容相反，低脂和非脂肪版本的食物往往含有更多的填充剂和添加剂，以弥补缺失的风味。毫无疑问，一种常见的添加剂是糖（或其中任何一种44个堂兄）。
阅读更多必不可少的指南
