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In this modern age, more thrust is being given to totally avoid or restrict the intake of fat or be conscious of fat, primarily to avoid being obese and/or maintain the body in a trim way.

Avoiding fat altogether is not a wise solution and some sort of fat is essential for the body, is what many nutitionists and doctors prescribe.

Are fats really that harmful? What actually are they and what is their role in our body and health?

Fat is nothing but energy in a highly concentrated form. Foods having too much of fat content do contain a number of calories, and increased consumption of more fat results in accumulation of calories in excess of what we burn on a normal day out, and this excess fat content might result in obesity. In addition, higher fat content in the body leads to heart related diseases and also increases the cholesterol content in the blood.

Fearing for obesity or other ailments, one should not avoid taking fat content on a daily basis, reiterate the doctors and nutitionists. Why?

Fat is vital for the effective functioning of the body. Fatty tissues present in the body act as a storehouse for essential vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamin E, which are soluble in fat. Fat is essentially required to produce some hormones, stimulates the activities in the gall bladder and also ensures that the nervous system is functioning effectively. By storing fat in the form of layers beneath the skin, one can feel the warmth of the body.

There is one compelling reason why one should take some sort of fat in a daily dosage of meals to the body. The body cannot synthesize two fatty acids in the body on its own. They are nothing but linnleic acid and linolenic acid. These two acids are very essential, similar to the 24 amino acids in protein, for the body and are called as “essential fatty acids”.

Cholesterol is one of the outcomes of fat. It is nothing but a fat-based molecule whichis effectively used as a building block for hormones and cell membranes in the body. This cholesterol is found in our blood in two different forms. One is the low-density LDL cholesterol molecules, that are capable of seeping into the artery walls because of their small size and harden the arteries. The other form is the high-density HDL cholesterol molecules. As the name suggests, these HDL cholesterol molecules remain in the blood stream as they are too big to seep in to the artery walls. It is the LDL cholesterol that is harmful. HDL cholesterol molecules, to some extent, help in mopping up the LDL cholesterol molecules.

What are the types of fat and where we can get the ideal fat required for the boy?

Fats can be broadly classified into three types – saturated fat; mono- unsaturated fat; and poly-unsaturated fat.

Saturated fats are found mostly from sources of animal origin such as butter, cream and meat. Plant sources are contribute to some saturated fats and those include palm oil and coconut oil. Most of the saturated fats are considered to be unhealthy as they are perceived to increase the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood.

The two other varieties of unsaturated fats – mono-unsaturated fats and poly-unsaturated fats – are relatively better than the saturated fat varieties. It is these unsaturated fats that supply the essential fatty acids to the body which cannot synthesize itself these acids.

Mono-unsaturated fats found in olive oil, avacados etc., are considered to be more stable, and also less prone to randicity. These fats help in reducing the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood and also help in increasing the level of beneficial HDL cholesterol in the blood stream.

Poly-unsaturated fats,on the hand, are found to be unstable and more prone to become rancid quickly and also lead to formation of carcinogenic chemicals. Poly-unsaturated fat is available mainly from plant sources such as corn oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil.

With a better understanding of the fats and their relative importance, one can moderate his intake of foods that include essentially fatty acids and the calories that are created from the food consumed are effectively burned out and there is little or no excess calorie content in the body at any point of time.

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It is common to hear advice from friends, well-wishers and other people to reduce the intake of fat content in our daily consumption, especially if you happen to be slightly overweight or obese and find difficulty moving around with a heavier body.

While some amount of fat intake is inevitable and also necessary for the body, it is the excess fat content that is a cause of concern, because excessive stock of fat in the body is one of the reasons for putting on weight. Another reason for putting on weight is not burning enough calories in relation to the amount of energy you muster from the food you consume.

Fat is not only responsible for putting on additional weight. It is considered harmful as excessive fat might lead to coronary heart diseases and atherosclerosis. Fat is further classified into unsaturated fat and saturated fat. Saturated fat contains only saturated fatty acid radicals. Some common examples of food that contain a higher proportion of saturated fat include dairy products such as cream, cheese, ghee and butter and other products such as coconut oil, chocolate, and palm kernel oil. Some of the animal fats such as lard, tallow and fatty meat also contain more of saturated fat.

While we cannot totally avoid consuming some or all of the above-mentioned products, what we can do effectively is to reduce the content of saturated fat and replace with effective alternatives that are free from saturated fat or have low saturated fat content.

1.While preparing food involving meat, please ensure that you choose only leaner cuts of meat and also remove fat content in the meat wherever it is possible to remove.
2.You can try to downsize the intake of meat content in your daily diet program
3.Avoid using butter or margarine for cooking and instead replace them with olive oil or vegetable oil
4.Avoid using meat in stir-fries and instead replace that with nuts or tofu.
5.While eating sandwich, try to replace the cheese, which gels with sandwich, with avocado slices.
6.Avoid using fried potato and instead eat more of baked potatoes. Adding low-fat yogurt instead of a sour cream along with potato will be better.
7.Look for milk with lower-fat content instead of the normal milk that has more fat.
8.Use more of buttermilk in mashed potatoes and salad dressings, and avoid adding butter or mayonnaise.
9.Reduce or eliminate the use of meat, if you a non-veggie, and groundnuts, if you are a veggie, while preparing casseroles. Instead you can use more of vegetables such as beans.
10.If you are fond of desserts and ice creams after a meal, try to replace the ice cream and desserts with low-fat frozen yogurt.

The above-mentioned suggestions, if implemented and practiced, can help you avoid the ill-effects of saturated fat and will help in avoiding heart related diseases or other health related problems.

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Our body is propelled by three major sources of energy, which makes it possible for our sustenance in this world. They are proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Of these three sources of energy, carbohydrates are the ones that break down into glucose, while the other two sources, viz., fats and proteins, cannot break down.

As intake of carbohydrates increases the sugar content in the body through glucose, many people of late are of the opinion that carbohydrates are inherently bad for health. Are carbohydrates really bad?

Carbohydrates are classified into two broad groups – simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates, taking into consideration their chemical structure as well digestibility.

Simple carbohydrates, or simply sugars, generally form crystals and these sugar crystals dissolve in water and digest easily. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, have a range of molecular structures, colors, flavors and textures. These complex carbohydrates are further classified as fiber or starches.

The primary source of fuel for our body, viz., glucose or blood sugar, is derived from metabolizing simple carbohydrates or starches. Carbohydrates are high quality fuel because very little is required of the body to break them down and thus release energy to the body. While protein and fat also gets converted into energy, the process is little bit more complex and additional efforts are needed in the conversion process.

Glucose, the only form of carbohydrate that the body can use immediately, is very essential for the function of the brain, the nervous system, the muscles and various other important organs in the body. At any given point of time, the blood in our body is capable of carrying glucose required for an hour. Excess amount of glucose is converted into a large molecule named glycogen and this chain of glucose units is stored in the muscles and liver. In times of necessity, the glycogen stored in the liver or muscles is converted back to glucose. The first preference for glucose is carbohydrates and only when there are no reserves or fewer reserves in carbohydrates, the proteins or fat is resorted to for converting glucose. As such, higher intake of carbohydrates, while providing the necessary glucose for the smooth functioning of the body, keeps the utility of proteins and fats to the minimum, which might lead to excess weight or obesity.

It is for this reason that many people around the world are of the view that they can lead a healthier life if the intake of carbohydrates is less. Carbohydrates are being looked upon as bad guys in the league. Contrary to this misconception, many researches have proved that choosing the healthier carbohydrates such as the whole grains is very essential for the well-being of the body. A recent research report advises that an average adult person should get roughly 45% to 65% of their calorific intake from carbohydrates. In other words, in a 2,000-calorie diet per day, carbohydrates should roughly be 225 grams to 325 grams, is what the report suggests for a healthier life.

Carbohydrates, in this context, are not inherently bad. On the contrary, they play a vital role in our well-being. It is only appropriate that we exercise caution and become choosy in consuming essential carbohydrates.

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