FATS

Fat is an important part of our diet; it is one of the nutrients that make up the foods we eat. Fat is one of the richest sources for energy. One gram of fat equals to nine kilocalories of energy. They are insoluble in water. They are mixture of lipids and fat soluble vitamins. Although it is absolutely necessary to have fat in our diet, too much of it can affect your health. Function Fats have numerous responsibilities in our body. The one most individuals have noticed is that they improve the taste of the food and promote digestion. Fats provide the body with energy. There are different forms of fat and they function in different ways. The main types of fat are saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fat. Some of these forms are good and some are bad. Usually, the bad fat is saturated fat because they tend to raise blood cholesterol level especially the LDL cholesterol which will lead to an increase of heart diseases but saturated fats are also needed for proper alignment of growth factors in cells and organs. It is also an excellent source of energy. Polyunsaturated fat have both good and bad sides. The good thing about polyunsaturated fat is that it contains essential fatty acids that you need to maintain your health. (Even though you need only a little) If you substitute polyunsaturated fat for saturated fat, you can help lower your total cholesterol by decreasing levels of LDL cholesterol. The bad thing about polyunsaturated is that it is more likely to react with free radicals in a process called oxidation which can very bad for your health. Monounsaturated fat can help lower levels of your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. They also raise your HDL cholesterol levels. Some oils such as olive and canola are rich in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated.