Have you ever thought that how and why diets high in saturated fats are dangerous to your health?
A recent research from Uppsala University shows that saturated fat builds more fat and less muscle than poly-unsaturated fat. Loss of muscle from your body means higher chances of injuries and diseases.
When we indulge in a high-fat diet it influences not only the cholesterol levels in the blood and the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but it also determines the way the body stores fat.
When you get calories from polyunsaturated fats (like salmon, olives, olive oil, nuts, etc.), you gain muscle weight, but foods with saturated fats (like butter, hydrogenated fats, stearic oil, etc.) will make you gain fat mass. Saturated fat in the diet causes a greater increase in the amount of fat in the liver and abdomen region which makes you obese.
When excessive unhealthy fats are consumed, they start getting deposited or stored in the arteries, which leads to narrowing of the blood vessels and an increase in the risk of heart diseases. Belly fat is closely linked to high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, and metabolic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, especially Type-2 diabetes. It causes disturbance in body metabolism. It is closely associated with increase in the levels of plasma cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol and significantly lowers the “good” cholesterol level, as storing fat around the organs is associated with increased risk of such conditions. Studies have shown that trans-fats and saturated fats spark chronic inflammation in the body and cause damage to the lining of the blood vessels. And if you cutback on such fats from your diet, then you might be able to prevent metabolic diseases. Replace bad saturated fats with unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs and PUFAs).
A high consumption of saturated fats in the diet seems to change the characteristics of certain genes in the body. These changed characteristics increase the fat storage in the abdomen and liver. When we consume polyunsaturated fats, the genes work the other way round in the visceral region (fat deposition around the vital organs) and protect the vital organs from shock and damage and also improve the sugar metabolism in the body.
Make sure you get your daily dose of healthy unsaturated fats through nuts, fish, avocadoes, etc. Choose peanut butter or almond butter over normal butter. Choose fish over beef and pork.