A Unique Child: Health & Nutrition - Brains and bodies

The UK is getting fatter by the day, with around two-thirds of our population classed as overweight or obese. We are bombarded with advice from experts, but many people without the facilities or skills to cook are left at the mercy of the food industry, which makes often confusing claims about its products.

If you are trying to lose weight, it’s tempting to opt for items billed as low-fat, but with processed food the reduction of fat often means a higher sugar content because fat adds flavour and is a preservative, so something has to replace it. Fat often gets a bad press, but we need it for our brains and bodies to function effectively; it’s all a matter of balance.

WHY DO WE NEED FAT?

We need fat to support nerve and brain function: our brains contain a large amount of fat, and nerve cells are coated in a fatty substance called myelin which enables them to transmit electrical messages. In fact, the cell membranes that surround all of the cells in our bodies contain fats. They transport fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K; provide energy; facilitate hormone production, and protect the heart.

Not all the fat we need has to come from our diet because our clever bodies can make fat from other energy sources, but some, known as essential fatty acids, must come from our diets. So, what kinds of fat are there and where do we find them in our diets?

KINDS OF FAT 

Trans fats

Trans fats (or trans fatty acids) occur naturally in small amounts in dairy products and meat, and if consumed at low levels are unlikely to have an adverse effect. However, they are commonly seen as the baddies when found in processed foods or when cooking with oil at high temperatures.

They are oils that have been changed to make solid fat for use in cakes, biscuits and other manufactured foods. They are also referred to as hydrogenated fat and have been linked to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke.

As a result of these health concerns, many manufacturers have reduced the amounts of trans fats in processed foods, such as margarine. But identifying how much trans fats occur in food is hard, for while they must appear on food labels in the USA, there is no such legal requirement in the UK and Europe.

Partially hydrogenated fats or oils on ingredients lists means a food will almost certainly contain trans fats, but checking for this alone isn’t foolproof. Far better is to always opt for healthy choices and avoid the cakes and other processed foods.

Saturated fats

For years we were warned away from saturated fats, but now we are told they are fine in moderation because they contain other nutrients that are very beneficial to us. These are the fats that are solid at room temperature like butter, cheese, meat, palm oil and coconut oil. Personally, I’ve always thought that a bit of butter in moderation was bound to be better than a factory-produced margarine.

Then there are the unsaturated fats which can help to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol. Just to complicate things, they are broken down into two groups.

Monounsaturated fats

Nuts, seeds and fruits such as olives and avocados provide monounsaturated fats and these make up part of a healthy diet, eaten in their whole and natural state or extracted as oil and used for dressings or for low-temperature cooking.

Polyunsaturated fats

These are found in nuts and seeds such as flaxseed, linseed and rapeseed, and in soya bean products, but also in meat and milk from grass-fed animals and oily fish. Polyunsaturated fats have the essential fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6 that we need to get from our diets as our bodies can’t make them from other sources.

Omega-6 is relatively easy to find in vegetable oils, but the best source of Omega-3 is from oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, and we should try to include at least two portions of these a week. Interestingly, I read this week that farmed Atlantic salmon used to have the highest amount of Omega-3 of any fish, providing 100 per cent of your week’s need in just one portion, because the pellets fed to the salmon contained 90 per cent anchovy. With the wide availability of rapeseed oil, this has replaced the anchovy, but it doesn’t contain as much Omega-3 so now two portions are needed. Children’s brain development and function is enhanced by these essential fats so this is an important part of their diets.

BALANCED DIET

As with all things in life, it is important to balance things out. We need fat in our diets, but fat is high in calories – and it is excess calories, not excess fat, that causes obesity.

The calories we do not burn off are converted into fat cells, known as adipose tissue, and stored for future use – and we all know what that looks like!

The Government’s Eatwell Plate and the Children’s Food Trust website can both help you get an idea of how much fat you should include, but remember that those Omega-3s are the main ones to track down for healthy, happy children.

MORE INFORMATION

• www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/multimedia/pdfs/theeatwellplate.pdf
• www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk
• www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nigel-denby/keeping-the-bigger-nutrit_b_7897040.html
• www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/TransFats.pdf

Mary Llewellin is operations manager at Snapdragons. Snapdragons Keynsham has the Food For Life Partnership Gold Catering Mark and was winner of the Nursery WorldNursery Food Award in 2012 and 2014.

Download the pdf