Betul ke lemak musuh no 1 kalau nak diet?

Ok, so today we’ll discuss about another macro nutrient need by our body..FAT..(slang cam cikgu sekolah)..Fat atau dalam bahasa melayunya lemak..biasanya lemak ni adalah benda yang paling sensitif kalau kita sebut depan orang tengah diet..ice cream, french fries, burger, ayam goreng, & nasi lemak etc..semua makanan yang berlemak ni memang pantang datuk moyang takleh makan kalau nak diet..yela, kate nak buang lemak, tapi makan lagi yang berlemak-lemak ni..useless tul..

Unfortunately, sama cam kes makan nasi hari tu, tuk lemak pun that claim is somewhat not precise..kebanyakkan kes obesity bukan sebab makan lebih lemak tapi lebih carbohydrate (refer previous post to know why)..

Dalam makanan, there are 2 type of fat..good fat, bad fat..good fat is actually good for our body (duh? Nama pun dah good..) and we should not avoid eating this type of fat..ape fungsi good fat ni (aka essential fat)?

Essential fatty acids are unsaturated fat (lemak tak tepu) that necessary for many biological functions in our body. And essential fat ni termasuk dalam kumpulan makanan berfungsi (direct translation of functional food). Maksud functional food is, nutrient yang ade dalam jenis makanan ni badan kita tak leh produce sendiri, means tuk dapatkan nutrient ni, mesti melalui makanan..It cannot be produce in our body, it need to be consume..

Ade dua jenis essential fat yang badan kita perlukan:

1. linoleic acid (omega-6)

omega-6 ni kita boleh dapat daripada minyak bunga matahari and canola oil. (both are available in the supermarket, just check the label)

2. Linolenic acid (omega-3)

Omega-3 ni ade dalam hampir semua jenis ikan air tawar, keli, haruan, etc and also from linseed oil (aka flaxseed oil), juga terdapat di pasaraya berhampiran anda..^_^

Antara fungsi kedua-dua lemak ni is to increase testosterone production..testosterone ni hormone yang promote muscle growth and increase bone strength, and jangan lupa, both male & female ade hormone ni, buke tok hok jate ja..(tukar slang jap)

Selain tu,essential fatty acid increase the amount of HDL cholesterol dalam darah..(HDL cholesterol baik, cholesterol jahat tu nama dia LDL cholesterol)..and kesan paling penting bagi yang nak lose weight ie losing fat is, of course the increase growth rate of muscle (dari hormone testosterone tadi)..sebabnya more muscle in our body increase our metabolism, increase metabolism means makanan cepat diprocess & diguna, so takde nak simpan-simpan banyak, result in weight loss..i’ll explain more on metabolism later..

So, what to choose now? Dalam makanan ade dua bentuk lemak ie solid yang kita panggil lemak or liquid, yang kita panggil minyak..in Malaysia, obviously minyak yang lebih main peranan since tuk lemak pepejal we don’t have that much choice, susah nak buang lemak dari makanan cam ayam, daging, ikan etc except for the obvious cam buang kulit tu je..so our limiting factor now is oil..

Jadi tuk diet, choose the correct type of oil..ade tiga jenis minyak, ie saturated oil, monounsaturated oil, & polyunsaturated oil.. contoh saturated oil is minyak kelapa about 90% saturated, and for unsaturated is olive oil (minyak zaitun, about 98% unsaturated), palm oil kat tengah-tengah about 45% saturated 55% unsaturated (no oil that 100% saturated or 100% unsaturated)

In our diet, nisbah penggunaan minyak harian by RDA (recommended dietary allowances) is 1:1:1..means kalu nak consume 6mL minyak sehari, make sure it is 2mL saturated, 2mL monounsaturated & 2mL polyunsaturated..Huh?? so takkan nak goreng ikan kena cari tiga-tiga jenis minyak, minyak kelapa, minyak zaitun, minyak ape lagi, kena ukur pastu campur sekali?? Complicated sangat dah ni..

Fortunately for us, there is oil available in the market known as designer oil..designer oil ni bukan specific minyak kelapa or zaitun tapi yang dah undergo blending process, the manufacture dah tolong kita bahagikan siap-siap..so bila beli minyak, check the label, you will see some are labeled as designer oil..

One more tip, bila nak goreng something, guna minyak yang high % in saturated oil..tuk unsaturated oil, just consume raw, cam makan minyak ikan dalam botol tu..why? because unsaturated oil is unstable..kalau guna tuk goreng ie high temperature, it will oxidize, producing carcinogenic compound during the oxidation..carcinogen can cause cancer..saturated oil dah stable, so kalau guna tuk goreng pun, tak ter’oxidize’ sangat..but better kalau elakkan terus la goreng-goreng nih..

Hmm..rasanya ade banyak lagi nak discuss pasal fat ni..but never mind..dapat basic idea tu ok la for now..at least you know how to choose which fat to consume..Once again, fraction berapa banyak nak consume fat sehari, I’ll discuss later..

Disclaimer: This post is only a guideline and additional reading material & not a professional advice..The author is not responsible for any health problem or injury happen to anyone who tried any method in this post. Please consult a doctor and professional fitness trainer before begin any diet/fitness program/weight loss program etc.