Fats: are they good or bad?

Are you confused about whether or not you're supposed to eat less fat? No wonder. The 'fat is bad' message of the 1980s was nice and simple, but it didn't tell the full story.

The fact that decreased intake of fat in the diet helps in maintaining health and reduces the risk of various lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity etc. is gaining prime importance in the present times. This has led people to believe in adopting a ‘fat-free diet” or “oil-free cookery” etc. And, the confusion regarding which type of fat to consume, and in what amounts; many-a-times tends to harm our body, rather than helping it.

Ø  Fats, in fact are required by our body to perform hundreds of different functions

Body requires fat for survival during illness, tension etc. It is stored in the form of adipose tissue in our body, and is used as a source of energy during periods of starvation.

The following most important functions are carried out by fats:

1.       A medium for the absorption and storage of vitamins A, D, E, K.

2.       Insulation and protection of organs like heart, kidneys, liver, lungs etc.

3.       Required in the process of thermo-regulation; maintaining the body temperature.

4.       Forms a protective coating on the cells of nervous system.

5.       Required for proper growth of the baby during pregnancy and after that, for the production of milk.

6.       Lubrication of joints.

7.       Plays an important role in the structure and functioning of brain.

8.       Vitamin D produced by the skin, requires a special type  of fat (cholesterol) as a starting molecule.

This explains why it is impossible for us to survive without this important dietary factor.

Why then, has such an important factor become a “threat” only in the recent times???

This is because of the type and the amount of fat which we consume.

All the natural food products never contain only a singly type of dietary factor. Fats are present in combination with carbohydrates, proteins, with the enzymes necessary to digest them AND in the right proportion; never in excess.

BUT  products like oil, ghee, butter, margarine which contain essentially only fats are all created by man and the excessive use of these has resulted in making it harmful.

What we tend to do in this case is eliminate ALL kinds of fat, natural or man-made, which actually is more harmful for our body.

Information about fats:

The fats found in foods are divided into four groups:

Saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans-saturated fats.

Each group of fats is differently assimilated by our body, having good or bad effects upon our health.

Saturated fats:

These type of fats are solid at room temperature and are obtained from butter, meat, milk and milk products, eggs etc. Most of the fats are found in products of animal origin.

This type of fat is stored in our body in the form of triglycerides and is used for production of energy. Cholesterol present in the fats is obtained from fats of ONLY animal origin and not from plants; because plant cell do not posses cholesterol.

Hence these fats should be consumed in a very small amount.

Mono-unsaturated fats:

These are present in almonds, apricots, olives, olive oil etc. They are important in preventing heart disease, but should be consumed in moderate amounts only.

Poly-unsaturated fats:

They are also called as essential fatty acids, as they cannot be produced by the body and hence should be obtained from the diet.

The 2 main types are omega 3 (o3) and omega 6 (o6) fatty acids. They play many important roles in our body, but for this, their proportion is important. Typically omega6: omega3 of 4:1. Both of these are obtained from natural foods in the correct proportion.

But now-a-days because of increased consumption of fast food, fried food etc., the omega 3 content in food decreases while omega 6 remains intact. This disturbs the proportion of o3:o6 which is the major risk in development of heart disease. 

Hence in such conditions, for maintaining health, the o3 content has to be increased and 06 decreased.  Natural omega3 can be obtained from flax seed (javas), akrod, soyabean, rye, wheat germ, sprouted foods, wheat grass juice etc. Fish oils also form an important source of this compound. Hence fish like mackerel, tuna, salmon when consumed in moderate amounts proves beneficial.

Role played by o3 and o6 in our body:

1.       Prevents the oxidation of harmful LDL cholesterol, thus prevents formation of blockages in blood vessels.

2.       Prevents formation of blood clots.

3.       Helps the heart to recover faster after the incidence of heart attack.

4.       Reduces the amount of LDL cholesterol (bad) and increases the amount of HDL (good) cholesterol.

Trans fats:

This is a new type of fat created by man during the process of hydrogenation. It is present in all types of processed foods eg. Refined and double refined oils, bakery products, pizza, burgers etc. consuming this type of fat increases the amount of LDL cholesterol in the body.

What to eat????

1.       Use of oil in cooking- as we have seen, none of the vegetable oils contain cholesterol, but in the refining process, all the fat present is converted to the harmful trans form. Hence cold pressed oil has to be used. Even for heart patients, a mixture of different types of oil if used in a moderate proportion, proves to be beneficial for health. Among these rice bran oil which contains a high proportion of vitamin E (a powerful anti-oxidant) should be used.

2.       Eggs: egg yolk contains lecithin, which is required in the normal functioning of the heart.  Hence while consuming eggs; both the egg white and yolk should be consumed.

3.       Oil seeds: these are the most important and balanced source of fats. For eg. Flax seeds, groundnuts, sesame seeds. At least 3-4 tea spoons of flax seed powder should be consumed daily to fulfill the requirement of omega3. In combination with this, one portion of groundnuts and half portion of sesame seeds powdered should also be consumed to maintain a healthy heart.

4.       Cod liver oil: daily consumption of a tablet of cod liver oil in addition to the above mentioned foods also proves to be helpful.

A regular balanced and moderate intake of the right kind of fat is an absolute necessity for an attractive personality, healthy heart, intact skin, soft hair. Increased use of natural foods, avoiding all the so-called low fat foods is very important. All the low fat foods are misguiding, and we tend to over eat such kinds of food because they are low fat which finally prove to be harmful.

Instead eating natural foods or even fried foods prepared at home, preserves most of the nutrients in them and, tend to be consumed in much smaller portions. Fats also help in maintaining a healthy and balanced state of mind. This is because intake of fat, especially omega 3 calms the mind, reduces anxiety and irritability.

 Hence as it is rightly said by a famous nutritionist, if your girl friend is showing signs of excess irritability during or just before the commencement of her menstrual cycle, just gift her bagful of groundnuts!!!!!!