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Healthy Diet Plans >>
Fats |
Fats for essential fatty acids
There was a time when fat was used liberally in all the food preparations for a simple reason that it made food tastier.
But ever since the darker shades of high fat consumption are discovered and related to disorders like diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and obesity, moderation is the key.
Body stores energy in the adipose tissues in the form of fats. Fat are basically a group of chemical compounds containing fatty acids. A gram of fat provides 9 kilocalories.
Fats are essential to maintain vital functions in the body. Fats provide essential fatty acids, it is important for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A,D,E,K and to maintain a healthy lining between the bones (Cerebral vascular fluid and synovial fluid).
Fats can be either saturated or unsaturated (polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids). But besides this there are also other types of fats like trans fats, triglycerides, omega-3 fatty acid, omega-6 fatty acid and cholesterol.
Fatty acid molecules are mostly composed of a carbon and hydrogen atoms. A saturated fatty acid is saturated with hydrogen atoms where each hydrogen atom is attached to every carbon atom. Saturated fatty acids are solid at room temperature.
In unsaturated fatty acid either one or more than one pair of hydrogen atom is missing. If there is one gap (one hydrogen atom missing) then it is called monounsaturated fatty acid and if there are many gaps (many hydrogen atoms missing) then it is called polyunsaturated fatty acid. Polysaturated and monosaturated fatty acids are mainly found in plant origin and some sea foods, while saturated fatty acids are found mainly in animal origin. Depending up on the site of missing hydrogen molecule polyunsaturated fatty acid is of two kind omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid. Monosaturated fatty acid is liquid at room temperature but solidifies in the refrigerator, while polyunsaturated fatty acid is liquid at both room temperature and in the refrigerator.
Trans fatty acids are byproducts of partial hydrogenation (a process in which missing hydrogen atoms are put back into polyunsaturated fatty acids). A straighter structure is taken by some of the hydrogenated fatty acids that allow the fatty acids to pack more tightly. This is the reason hydrogenated vegetable oils such as margarine and vegetable shortening are solid at room temperature.
Fats and cholesterol come under the broad classification of 'lipids'. Cholesterol is required for many functions in the body like processing food, bile acids for digestion and helps produce steroid hormones.
Most of the cholesterol required by the body is synthesized by liver. Cholesterol is only derived from animal origin, so one should be alert of the gimmick that Oil Company plays of 'cholesterol free oil'. All the oil from plant origin is cholesterol free.
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