Food 4 Life - Fats

Fats

• Fats are essential for a healthy body, providing a source of energy and carrying vital nutrients.
• Fats also play an important role in food manufacture and cooking making food taste good.
• It can also contain fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. 
• There are different types of fatty acid, saturated and unsaturated.  Foods containing fat will have differing proportions of these fats.
• Saturated fatty acids are one of three main types of fatty acids (ie saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). 
• These are also sometimes referred to as saturates, saturated fat, SFA’s MUFA’s & PUFA’s.
• The majority of foods contain a combination of SFA, MUFA and PFA but the proportion of each varies greatly with different foods.
• Despite common reference to animal fats as saturated, less than half of all fatty acids in meats are saturated although the exact proportions vary depending upon the type of meat.
• Butter contains approximately 50% saturated fat; it also contains approximately 20% monounsaturated fat
• Vegetable oils are described as unsaturated fats because they contain more mono- or polyunsaturated fatty acids.
• Saturated fats are solid at room temperature whereas unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature.
• A diet high in saturated fats may be associated with raised blood cholesterol levels
• Excess energy intakes over expenditure are also associated with the development of overweight and obesity, which are also risk factors in heart disease and some cancers.

Sources of Fat in the diet

 Saturated fats: Dairy products (e.g. butter, cheese), meat and meat products, eggs (yolk), palm oil, coconut oil, cakes, nuts

Unsaturated fats: Corn oil, sunflower oil, some margarines, oily fish, meats, soya oil

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