A common question newbie vegans ask is what vegan fats they can include in their diet. For people to function to their full capacity and maintain a healthy weight, it is essential to eat a balanced diet and nutritious diet that includes the correct proportions of each food group.
When you become a vegan, you eliminate many foods from your diet. Just because you have chosen to eat meat, fish, dairy products, and other animal-derived products, it doesn’t mean you need to exclude any of the essential nutrients you need to stay healthy.
To ensure this happens, you must understand the functions that different food groups have and also know how to include them in your diet. Here are the healthiest sources of fats for vegans.
Why Do Humans Need Fat in Their Diet?
Fat is often associated with gaining weight and health problems and has had some bad press in the media. However, including the right quantity of fat in your diet is essential as it has some crucial roles in your body’s functions. These include:
Furthermore, you need to eat fat to burn fat. Therefore, including healthy fats in your diet can aid weight loss.
- Regulating your blood pressure
- Helping your blood clot
- Forming cell membranes
- Regulating hormone levels
- Absorbing fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
- Eliminating the waste from cells
Types of Fat
Many people mistakenly believe that fats are bad for you and you should eat as little fat as possible. However, not all fats are bad for you, and some fats promote good health.
While animal fats are linked to weight gain and health problems relating to obesity, such as diabetes and cardiovascular issues, fats found in plants are generally considered as healthy. There are three main types of fats. These are:
- Saturated fatty acids (SFAs)
- Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
Saturated fats are often associated with health problems. On the other hand, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are generally considered healthy. Saturated fats are predominantly found in processed food and meat, while monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are usually found in natural plant-based products.
How Much Fat Do People Need in Their Diet?
The amount of fat you need changes at different periods of your life. Health advice suggests the average adult’s fat intake should generally not exceed 3% of total food energy intake, and saturated fats should not exceed 11% of food energy intake. The maximum overall fat intake is around 70g for women and approximately 95g for men. Only 30 g for men and 20g for women should come from saturated fats.
What Are the Best Sources of Vegan Fats?
While it is useful to understand the role fat plays and how much you should eat, the question on most vegans’ minds is ‘what are the best sources of vegan fats?’ The following are some fat options that vegans can include in their diet.
Olive Oil- One of the Most Widely Used Vegan Fats
Olive oil is the healthiest cooking oil, as it is a good source of monounsaturated fat compared to other cooking oils, which are often high in polyunsaturated fats. Therefore, it is a pantry staple for those following a vegan lifestyle. Another reason to use olive oil is the high amounts of antioxidants help to prevent oxidisation.
However, when oils burn, they become toxic. Therefore, olive oil is not the best option for deep frying due to its low smoke point. Sunflower oil is a good alternative, as this has a higher smoke point. You don’t just need to use olive oil for cooking only; it is delicious as a base for many salad dressings and dips.
Almonds
Adding nuts to your diet is a way of including healthy fats, and almonds are the best choice. Almonds contain fewer calories but more protein than many other nuts, including cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts.
They are also a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients essential to your health. These include calcium, iron, magnesium, copper, vitamin E, and B vitamins.
TIP: You can add almonds to salads, cereals, and pasta or eat them as a snack.
Avocado
Avocados should be the first item on your grocery list, as they are one of the fattiest natural foods available. They are rich in healthy fats that roughly break down as 13 % polyunsaturated fat, 15 % saturated fat and 68 % monounsaturated fat. They are a fantastic source of energy for your body, and they are also proven to lower cholesterol levels. Avocados are great in salads, made into a dip, or as a healthy alternative for vegans to use as a replacement for spreads and butter.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are packed with Omega 3 and also have a good Omega 3 and Omega 6 ratio. If you are also concerned with getting enough calcium in your diet, chia seeds are a good choice of an ingredient as they contain 18 % of the recommended daily amount of calcium you need in just one ounce. Sprinkle them onto your morning cereal, use them in puddings or add them to your favourite smoothies.
Flax Seeds or Flax Oil
Superfoods are nutritionally dense foods and are believed to be exceptionally good for your health. Flax seeds have been given this label due to the nutritional value of including these seeds in your diet, as just one ounce of flax seeds provides you with six times your RDA of Omega 3, and they have an excellent Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio. Flax seeds also contain calcium, protein, fibre, iron, and polyphenol antioxidants.
This is a versatile ingredient that you can use in many meals, and you can even use flax meal as a replacement for flour for baking. If you mix three tablespoons of flax meal with one tablespoon of water, you can create a ‘flax egg’ that is a healthy substitute for eggs as they are high in cholesterol.
Cacao Nib: Vegan Fats for Desserts
Not all chocolate is bad for you, which is fantastic news for chocolate lovers. Cacao nibs are a delicious source of healthy fatty acids. However, this is not the typical chocolate you find in candy bars from your local store; it is delicious dark chocolate packed with monounsaturated fat and antioxidants. Evidence suggests that cacao nibs help protect against some cancers and lower cholesterol, so there is no need to feel too guilty about eating this chocolate snack.
Coconut Oil
As it is 92 % saturated fat, you might assume that coconut oil is an unhealthy product. However, this is mainly lauric acid, and this is a medium-chain triglyceride that delivers fat straight from the intestines to the liver to use as energy rather than storing it as fat.
Some health benefits associated with lauric acid include lower cholesterol, reduced risk of heart disease, and weight loss. Some studies also show that coconut oil is antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral. Coconut oil is a great addition to desserts, drinks, and curries. As an added bonus, you can use it as a makeup remover!
Soy Beans
Many vegans include soy beans in their diet as a sound source of protein as it is the only complete non-animal protein that contains all eight amino acids. However, soy beans are also low in saturated fat and high in Omega-3 fatty acids. Furthermore, they are a great source of calcium, fibre and B vitamins.
If you do not enjoy soy beans, there are many ways you can reap their nutritional benefits, as they are used to make many other products, including soy milk and tofu. Soy is a versatile ingredient you can incorporate into savoury and sweet dishes. An added benefit is that soy beans are cheap, and you can bulk buy the dried version.
Tahini
Made from sesame seeds, about 50 % of tahini is oleic acid. It can help to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol, thus benefiting heart health. According to some studies, antioxidant properties found in tahini can also help to fight inflammation. Furthermore, tahini is a valuable source of iron and calcium for vegans/ The simplest way to use tahini is as a salad dressing, and you can add different ingredients to create different flavours.
Healthy Fat Supplements
Supplements are an alternative to including foods with healthy fats in your diet. You should not use supplements to completely replace fat as part of your diet, but they are a great way to ensure you get the right amount of healthy fat to maintain good health. There are many fantastic products available on the market.
Vegan Fats Nutrition Tips
Instead of avoiding all fatty foods, focus on the quality and amount of fat you eat.
Incorporate some nutritious plant-based fatty acids into your diet as snacks if you are having difficulty with incorporating them into your meals.
A handful of seeds or nuts can help you to improve blood fat levels and provide you with additional essential nutrients.
Vegan Fats: The Final Verdict
Although fat in the diet is often associated with meat, fish and dairy products, there are plenty of natural plant-based fats that vegans can include in their diet. Furthermore, these fats are healthier than those fats derived from animal sources. Adding any of the food included in this list into your diet has the added benefit of providing you with many essential nutrients that are not found in animal fats and can help you to have a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet. You can use each food in various ways to add taste, texture and nutritional value to your meals. So, get creative with your cooking and be inventive with the ways you incorporate vegan fats into your diet.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also like to read our recommendations for the best vegan cookbooks, as some of these have further advice for cooking with vegan fats.