Advertise | Contact Us
Images | Blogs | Forum Forum | Login | Not a Member ?   Register Now
Diet and Nutrition
Diet and Nutrition of Infants
Diet and Nutrition of Teenagers
Diet
Diet and Lifestyle
Unhealthy Eating Habits
Balanced Diet
Daily Requirement of Calorie
Food Additives
Components of Diet
Carbohydrates in Diet
Fats in Diet
Protein in Diet
Roughage or fiber
Minerals in Diet
Calcium
Iron
Sodium
Vitamins in Diet
Vitamin A
Vitamin B
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Types of Diet
Dietitians
Home » Components of Diet » Fats
 

Fats in Diet

Fats in diet are essential to maintain a healthy self. Fats are important for many body functions and you are required to eat a certain amount of fat in your daily diet. Fat keeps you warm, gives protection to your organs and assists your body to absorb and move required nutrients around your body. Fats in diet also help in the production of hormones. However, various fats are favorable than others, hence, having too much fats in diet in unhealthy. Therefore, it is always suggested to consume fats to a specific limit and the excessive use of fats in diet creates several problems.

Fats in diet are categorized according to its structure. Different types of fats have different characteristics and it reacts in different manner inside the body. Some of the saturated fats which are mainly found in different animal products increase the blood cholesterol. The increase of blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors in coronary heart disease. Polyunsaturated and Mono-unsaturated fats act in lowering the blood cholesterol. Blood cholesterols are also of two types. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. LDL is regarded as bad cholesterol because it works on the silting up and narrowing of the arteries, which in turn, leads to different types of heart diseases and stroke. The HDL cholesterol is regarded as good cholesterol due to its work in cleaning the arteries and thus minimizing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

There are different groups of fats with each of the group having its own behavior inside the human body. Fats in diet can be classified into four different groups like Saturated, Polyunsaturated, Mono-unsaturated and Trans fats. The intake of saturated fats increases the possibility of heart diseases due to the increase in level on blood cholesterol. These types of fats are available in fast foods and in various commercial products like pastries and biscuits. Polyunsaturated fats and Mono-unsaturated fats help lowering the blood cholesterol. The polyunsaturated fatty acids have a little better action than mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Thus, you can replace your fats in diet from saturated fats to any one of the mono or polyunsaturated fats.

Trans-fatty acids are very rare in nature and can only be created in the rumen of sheep and cows, and are found only in very little amounts in cheese, lamb, milk and beef. Trans-fatty acid is used during the production of some table margarines and in solid spreads which are used in the food industry to produce baked products such as pastries, pies, buns, cakes and biscuits.

Fats are also required to be included in our diet but the quantity should be limited otherwise it may create some of the major health problems. Some of the common food items containing fats include margarine spreads like canola or olive oil based choices, peanuts, cashews, canola and peanut oils, oils such as olive, avocado, hazelnuts and almonds. These come under Mono-unsaturated fats. There are various other fats in diet which we consume in our food daily.