Fat :Per Day Recommendation ,Classification Of Fat ,Fat is Good!,Fat is Bad

Fat Definition

Fat is a term used to describe a class of macro nutrients used in metabolism called triglycerides.

These make up one of three classes of macro nutrients including proteins and carbohydrates. Fats provide a means of storing energy for most Eukaryotas, as well as act as a food source. Fats have the highest energy storage potential of the macro nutrients, and are very chemically stable, making them ideal for storing energy for later use.

Fats have 9 calories in each gram. The terms "lipid", "oil" and "fat" are often confused. "Lipid" is the general term.

Per Day Recommendation 

The dietary reference intake (DRI) for fat in adults is 20% to 35% of total calories from fat. That is about 44 grams to 77 grams of fat per day if you eat 2,000 calories a day. It is recommended to eat more of some types of fats because they provide health benefits. It is recommended to eat less of other types of fat due to the negative impact on health.

• Monounsaturated fat: 15% to 20%
• Polyunsaturated fat: 5% to 10%
• Saturated fat: less than 10%
• Trans fat: 0%
• Cholesterol: less than 300 mg per day
• Saturated fat

Classification Of Fat 

Saturated fat

Saturated fat is solid at room temperature, which is why it is also known as "solid fat." It is mostly in animal foods, such as milk, cheese, and meat. Poultry and fish have less saturated fat than red meat. Saturated fat is also in tropical oils, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter. You'll find tropical oils in many snacks and in non-dairy foods, such as coffee creamers and whipped toppings. Foods made with butter, margarine, or shortening (cakes, cookies, and other desserts) have a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fat can raise your cholesterol.

Trans fat

This is a fat that has been changed by a process called hydrogenation. This process increases the shelf life of fat and makes the fat harder at room temperature. Harder fat makes crispier crackers and flakier pie crusts. Trans fat can raise your cholesterol, so eat as little trans fat as possible. You'll find it in:

Processed foods.

Snack foods, such as chips and crackers.

Cookies.
            Some margarine and salad dressings.
            Foods made with shortening and partially hydrogenated oils.

Unsaturated fat

Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature. It is mostly in oils from plants. If you eat unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, it may help improve your cholesterol levels. Try to eat mostly unsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are types of unsaturated fat.

Monounsaturated fat: This fat is in avocado, nuts, and vegetable oils, such as canola, olive, and peanut oils. Eating foods that are high in monounsaturated fats may help lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats may also keep "good" HDL cholesterol levels high. But eating more unsaturated fat without cutting back on saturated fat may not lower your cholesterol.

Polyunsaturated fat: This type of fat is mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and corn oils. Polyunsaturated fat is also the main fat found in seafood. Eating polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat may lower LDL cholesterol. The two types of polyunsaturated fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids : found in foods from plants like soybean oil, canola oil, walnuts, and flaxseed. They are also found in fatty fish and shellfish as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, Pacific oysters, trout, Atlantic mackerel, and Pacific mackerel are high in EPA and DHA and lower in mercury. A healthy diet includes 2 Food Guide servings or more of these types of fish a week.

Omega-6 fatty acids : found mostly in liquid vegetable oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and safflower oil.

Fat is Good!

Like protein, but not carbohydrates, fat is essential to human life. We all need fat in our diets:

Fat is a concentrated source of energy – 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories, much more than a gram of protein or carbohydrate which both contain 4 calories.  The body can pull on its fat reserves during lean times for energy, converting fat into glucose.

Fat provides a cushion to help protect our vital organs – without fat our organs would be more prone to damage.  Furthermore, fat acts as an insulator, helping us to maintain the correct body temperature.

Fat enables our bodies to process vitamins A, D, E and K, which are all fat soluble and vital to good health. (More on Vitamins)

Like amino acids in protein, fat contains essential fatty acids (EFA’s).  These EFA’s are, as their name suggests, essential to good health and likely to help the heart and immune system.  The human body cannot make its own (synthesize) these EFA’s and therefore has to get them from consumption of fat.

Some fatty acids – like omega 3 – may provide other health benefits such as complimenting the cognitive processes of the brain.

Fat makes food taste better.  Hot buttered crumpets, double cream on trifle, gravy made from dripping!

Fat is Bad

Due to its high calorific value (1 gram of fat = 9 calories) it is easy to consume too many calories when eating fatty foods.  Unused calories can be stored by the body as fat and will cause weight gain.

Our bodies store fat for lean times and have evolved to cope with seasonal availability of food – storing fat when food is plentiful and burning it off when food is scarce.  In the modern world, and for most people, food is plentiful all year round – our bodies store fat but never burn it off, as fat accumulates we become overweight. See our page Dieting for Weight Loss for more information on maintaining a healthy body weight.

Fat can cushion and protect our internal organs; however too much cushioning means more bulk and weight which in turn increases the workload of the heart and other organs.

Your body (the liver) produces cholesterol which is vital to a healthy body and a building block for other essential chemicals that the body produces.  Cholesterol is a waxy substance that, in low levels, flows freely around your body in the blood.  Higher levels of cholesterol mean a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease.  See below for more on cholesterol.

Some fats are worse than others.  Saturated fats are worse for you than unsaturated fats – this is to do with their chemical structure and how the body processes them.  Trans or hydrogenated fats – which are almost exclusively manufactured (although do occur naturally in small quantities in meat and dairy produce) and are used in many processed foods are particularly bad and are linked to an increased risk of high cholesterol levels and coronary heart disease.