Dietary Fats
You were on a weight loss program and went on crash diets often. You began to resist fats. You may actually be harming your healthy by eliminating all fats. You should know which fats are bad and why.
About Dietary Fats
Dietary fats are those that are a part of daily food intake. Consumed as a part of the diet, these fats are sources of lasting energy. These help to absorb the fat soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E, and K in the intestines, carry the vitamins in the body, form membranes and hormones in the body, regulate body temperature to keep warm, and form structural components in the brain and nerve cells. Dietary fats provide two essential fatty acids called linoleic acid and linolenic acid, which are not synthesized in the body. Fatty acids are the basic building blocks of complex fats in the body. Above all, fats add taste to food, make it more palatable, and are important to maintain health.
The healthy dietary fats include the monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and omega-3 fats.
Monounsaturated fats are those that have a double bond between the carbon atoms in the chemical structure. These fats are liquid in room temperature and solidify on lower temperatures. These fats are good for the heart and help to keep a balance of good fats, called high density lipoproteins (HDL) in the body. They keep a check on the bad fats called the low density lipoproteins (LDL).
Monounsaturated fats are found in nuts, sunflower oil, olive oil, safflower oil, avocados, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, peanut oil, and peanut butter.
Polyunsaturated fats are those that have more than one double bond between the carbon atoms in chemical structure. These are liquid at both the room temperature and the lower temperatures. These fats are also good for the heart. The linolenic and linoleic acid are the polyunsaturated fats that are vital for the control of blood pressure, clotting of blood, and the defense of the body against diseases.
Polyunsaturated acids are found in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. Examples of some rich sources are the canola, corn, cottonseed, soyabean, and sunflower oils. Sardines, salmon, tuna, trout, and mackerel are also rich in polyunsaturated fats. Walnuts and pumpkin seeds are other rich sources.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are the linolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fat that is important for several body structures and functions but needs to be consumed in the diet as the body is incapable of producing it. These have many health benefits and are found in abundance in fish.
Omega-3 fats are found in fish like salmon, sardine, tofu, tuna, and mackerel. The soy based foods like soybeans and soy nuts are also rich in polyunsaturated fats. Besides these, green leafy vegetables, flaxseeds, walnuts, and legumes are rich in omega-3 fats.
Harmful Dietary Fats
The saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol are the harmful fats consumed in diet.
The saturated fats are those that have all the carbon atoms linked to hydrogen in the chemical structure. The hydrogen atoms, thus saturate all the carbons in the structure and leave no carbon atoms free to form any double bonds. Thus, there are no double bonds in chemical structure. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. Also called animal fats, the saturated fats are derived mainly from animal sources and are not healthy for the heart and the health in general.
Saturated fats are abundant in animal foods like animal skin, eggs, whole-fat milk and cream, butter, and high-fat cheese and meats. Ice creams are also rich sources of saturated fats. Besides these, some plant sources also contain saturated fats. These include the plant oils like palm oils, kernel oils, coconut oils, and cocoa butter.
Trans fats are those that are created by adding hydrogen to liquid fats to saturate them and make them solid at room temperature. This is done in industrial chemical processes in food manufacturing.
Trans fats are found in muffins, cookies, crackers, French fries, dough nuts, and fast foods. Fried foods and oily snacks are rich sources of trans fats.
Cholesterol is a type of fat that is found in animal products. Our body makes cholesterol in the liver. Cholesterol is an important component of various hormones, vitamin D, and bile in the body. Bile is a juice produced by the liver for the absorption and digestion of fats from food. Cholesterol circulates in blood in various forms. The LDL makes the bad cholesterol and HDL makes the good cholesterol.
Cholesterol is found in animal foods like eggs, meat, butter, lard, and other dairy products. Cake, cookies, muffins, and other foods that contain lots of fats are rich in cholesterol.
Daily intake
The right balance of fats in the diet helps to keep good health. The total fat intake should not exceed 25-35% of the total calorie intake in one day. The saturated fats should be less than 7% and trans fats less than 1% of the total daily calories. Rest of the fat intake should comprise the mono and polyunsaturated fats. The amount of cholesterol intake per day should be less than 300 mg. Those who have heart disease should still lower the daily cholesterol intake to 200 mg in a day.
Tips for eating healthy fats
It is important to watch the type and amount of fat intake. Most of the fat intake should be in the form of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as nuts, seeds, fish, and vegetable oils. Unhydrogenated oils should be used for cooking. These include oils like the canola, sunflower, safflower, and olive oils. Soft margarines should be preferred over the hard ones. Fried foods and cakes, muffins, pies, and pastries have trans fats and should be avoided. One should control the amount of saturated fats in diet. Fast foods should be avoided. The only way to good health is to have a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. One should check the labels for fat composition of food products. The choice of right fats can make your diet healthier and more enjoyable.
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