Dr Federica Amati urges Brits to eat more fat - so long as you 'focus' on key rule
But Dr Amati, who is head nutritionist at the health app Zoe, said that more is better - provided you stick to one golden rule. She said there was nothing wrong with consuming healthy fats as part of a healthy diet. They can help us feel fuller for longer and supply us with lots of nutrients.
However, she said it was vital that people focused on the quality of the fats they were consuming. Dr Amati, author of Every Body Should Know This, said: "Some people worry about eating fats if they're trying to lose weight. Well, the good news is that having a varied diet that contains healthy fats is a very good way to lose weight sustainably.
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"We don't find healthy fats in isolation, with the exception of extra virgin olive oil. We eat healthy fats in foods that also contain other nutrients that help us to feel fuller and thrive. Nuts and seeds, fatty fish, avocados… all of these wonderful foods that contain healthy fats also help us to feel full, to have lovely nutritious and flavourful meals, and to achieve a healthy weight and then maintain it.
"The important thing to note is to focus on quality. If we're getting good quality fats from things like fatty fish, nuts and seeds, olives, as well as a little bit of saturated fats from foods like fermented dairy e.g. kefir and cheese, this can actually be a really good way to achieve a healthy and sustainable weight loss while still having flavourful delicious meals and without negatively impacting our cardiovascular disease risk."
The NHS warns that too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. It says that current UK Government guidelines advise cutting down on all fats and replacing saturated fat with some unsaturated fat.
Fat that is not used by your body as energy is then stored as body fat, which is why it is often associated with putting on weight. One gram of fat provides 9kcal (37kJ) of energy compared with 4kcal (17kJ) for carbohydrate and protein.
The NHS says: "A small amount of fat is an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet. Fat is a source of essential fatty acids, which the body cannot make itself.
"Fat helps the body absorb vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E. These vitamins are fat-soluble, which means they can only be absorbed with the help of fats.
"As part of a healthy diet, you should try to cut down on foods and drinks that are high in saturated fats and trans fats and replace some of them with unsaturated fats."
Saturated fats tend to be from animal sources and solid at room temperature, which can cause blockages in our blood vessels. Unsaturated fats are usually liquid - meaning they are less likely to clog your arteries - and from plant sources.
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