Recommended Daily Fat Intake

Those who are interested in maintaining, losing or gaining weight need to check their daily fat intake. Carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals are some of the essential nutrients that are required for proper functioning of your body. Calorie conscious people always opt for low fat diet.

Everybody knows that consumption of too much of fat leads to excess body weight, which in turn leads to heart diseases and several other health problems. Following a 'no fat diet' is also not recommended, as certain amount of fat is essential for body metabolism. So, knowing recommended daily fat intake can help prevent severe health complications.

One gram of protein or carbohydrate provides 4 calories but 1 gram of fat provides 9 calories (more than double). Thus, fat intake plays an important role in maintaining the weight of an individual. Growing percentage of obesity indicates wrong eating habits and high amount of fat in diet.

Trans fat is mainly held responsible for high cholesterol (LDL or bad cholesterol) levels which lead to heart diseases and other health hazards.

Actually, some low fat foods contain more nutrients than high fat foods like bacon, sausage, and potato fries. So, people should avoid unnecessary consumption of fat that does not provide sufficient nutrients to the body. Consumption of healthy fat is recommended by doctors and dietitians.

Healthy fat promotes proper functioning of the brain, heart, lungs, nerves, etc. In fact, fat promotes proper functioning of all cells and all organs. Fat can strengthen your immune system. It plays an important role in improving your digestive health.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are healthier than trans and saturated fat. Whatever saturated fat we require, is produced by our bodies with the help of good fat supplied through food. Taking into consideration percentage of fat types, olive oil is considered healthier than butter.

You may keep a list of low fat foods handy. Here follows important information on how many grams of fat per day should we have.

Recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fat may vary according to the age, gender, weight, height, and physical activity. It mainly depends upon total daily calorie intake of the person. Individuals performing vigorous physical activity may need more amount of fat. Body mass index also can be taken into consideration while determining daily fat intake.

If you are thinking about how to reduce body fat percentage fast, then you should strictly stick to the recommended daily fat intake and increase your physical activity. Remember, fat loss is impossible without fat burning exercises. The following table describes recommended daily calorie intake for men and women.

• Men and women who consume 2000 calories every day is 65 g RDA of fat
• Women and men who consume 2800 calories every day is 100 g RDA of fat

Let us see how this is calculated. According to the American heart association, calories received from fat in a healthy diet should not be more than 30-35% of the total calorie intake.

Men and women who follow a 2000 calorie diet, should therefore receive not more than 600 calories from fat. Since 1 g of fat offers 9 calories, about 66 g fat will offer 600 calories. Similarly, a person who consumes 2800 calories everyday, should not receive more than 900 calories from fat.

The person can have 900 calories by consuming 100 g fat. Dietitians recommend consumption of 40-75 grams of fat per day for teenagers.

All weight loss diets include low fat versions of foods and fat burning foods as well. People interested in healthy weight loss should keep it in mind that calories received from fat should be in between 20-30 percent of total calories, depending upon the age, original weight, excess weight, etc.

Fish, lean pieces of meat, poultry (skin removed), avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds contain healthy fat. Avoid eating high-fat foods like crisps, biscuits, cakes and fried food. I hope you find the above information regarding daily fat intake helpful in losing weight fast. Those who want to gain weight may include more healthy fat in their diet.