Fats and oils refer to pure fats without any carbs or protein. They include visible sources of fat that are extracted from animal or plant foods. Hormones are produced from fat and cholesterol, so consuming fat is crucial for hormone health! Hormonal imbalance is linked to low-fat diets. Low-fat diets lead to poor absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like Vit A, D, E & K, leading to hormonal imbalances and infertility in men and women. Here’s how to optimize nutrition with FATS with Nutritionist Karishma Chawla.
Visible fats refer to visual forms of fats that can be seen! These include solid fats and liquid oils (mentioned above) because they are extracted from foods into visible forms of fats and may be added to various food preparations. Invisible fats refer to the fats that are present inside foods and hence cannot be seen separately. These include the fats inside all foods, I.e. within both plant foods (cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts) and animal foods (milk products, meats, fish, and eggs).
Saturated fat is often considered “bad.” However, it’s not all bad! Balance is the key. Remember, it’s not the fat that is the villain but inflammation caused by the wrong fats that cause heart disease, weight gain, and other chronic conditions.
We also want to look at crowding out trans fat commonly found in commercially baked and fried foods. These increase inflammation, reduce fertility and disrupt sex hormones.
In short, including healthy fats and crowding out bad ones can help one’s fertility and enhance hormone health.