We all grew up with our mothers making us OD on desi ghee and dollops of butter in our food in order to make us healthy and strong. And to top it, there are numerous studies on how fats are good for us. Yes, the saturated cow-cheese-butter fat isn't that bad if you're not overdoing it. But keep a check on the percentage of your body fat. If that's high, then you're at a higher risk of being fat. We tell you four reasons why eating fat can make you fat. Knowledge is power, after all.
Makes Everything Taste Super
Of course! It's like imagining how complete would butter chicken be without butter. Terrible. Unthinkable, right? The moment you add 100 calories extra to your food, it automatically attracts you to itself. We believe storing high energy in our system for longer hours is essential for us to function well. But we forget that fats aren't the only way to store this energy. Say hello to protein. We choose fats over any other form simply because fats taste better and research confirms so.
High In Caloric Density
No rocket science this one. If you do a calorie count, then protein and carbs have only four calories per gram, while fat has nine. Almost 200 grams of a green vegetable will have the same number of calories as in a spoonful of butter. And of course, the taste factor adds to it, making you gorge on it more. And widening the girth of that belly of yours, too.
Isn't Satiating
In the order of feeling satisfied, protein is king, as it ranks the highest. Next comes carbohydrates and fat is hardly satiating, research shows. The brain regulates eating behaviour and it relies on glucose as its main fuel. Hence, the brain has a carbohydrate drive, making people eat enough protein to provide the brain with adequate glucose.
Thermic Effect Of Food Is Very Low
Before you get confused by the phrase, the thermic effect of food is the calories food burns by being digested. So, when you eat protein, almost 20 per cent of those calories are burned off because your digestive system needs to work harder to process them. Carbohydrates don't have that high a TEF as protein, but fat's TEF stands lowest-almost below 5 per cent and could go as low as 2 per cent. Bad news!
By Varun Swasthi
