Fat and its Role in Our Health
Author: tiger Published Under: Health
When many people hear the word fat, it often resonates as if it were a curse word and to be fair fat is often used as an insult. In terms of dieting, fat is also poorly represented and almost always considered to be evil or something that should be avoided at all costs.
In truth, however, fat is not only required by the body, but it also has some very positive values. This is not to say that there are not some types of unhealthy fat or that a diet consisting of all fat is good for you, but simply that in the world of diet and dieting, fat often gets a bum rap.
- What is Fat?
- Saturated Fat vs Unsaturated Fat
- Required Fatty Acids
- What are EFAs and How do They Help the Body?
- Omega Fats Explained
- Other Kinds of Fats
What is Fat
Fat belongs to a family of chemicals called lipids, of which, one of the main properties is that lipids do not dissolve in water.
When most people talk about fats, such as fat in the body or fat in food, they are referring to triglycerides, which consist of a type of alcohol called glycerol. Three fatty acids, which are an ingredient of fat, attach to the glycerol, which is where the tri in triglycerides comes from.
Fatty Acids are actually sort of like a chain of chemicals, with the acid on one end of the chain and atoms of carbon and hydrogen extending from the acid forming the chain. Depending on the type of fat, the fatty acid chain could be long or short.
The length of the chain determines how quickly the fat is broken down by the body and whether or not it gets stored. For instance butter, which has a fairly short chain, would typically be used quickly, providing a quick burst of energy and would be less likely to be stored away.
Saturated Fat vs Unsaturated Fat
In addition to the length of a fatty acid chain being important, the number of hydrogen atoms in the chain is also used to classify the fat. The number of hydrogen atoms in the chain is used to determine the saturation of the fatty acid.
If the fatty acid contains the maximum level of hydrogen atoms, it is considered to be saturated. If the chain has one or more places where a hydrogen atom could be placed, but is absent, it is considered unsaturated. Another way fatty acids are classified is by the number of points that are left unsaturated.
A fatty acid that only has one point that is unsaturated is said to be monosaturated. A fatty acid with multiple unsaturated points is considered to be polysaturated.
Monosaturated fatty acids can be found in avocados, olive oil, cashews, salmon, and other cold water fish. Polysaturated fatty acids can be found in vegetable oils and many types of fish.
One of properties of saturated fat is that it is usually solid when stored at room temperature, with butter and the fat in beef being an example of a saturated fat. The more unsaturated it becomes, the more liquid like it is at room temperature, with vegetable oil being an example of unsaturated fat.
Most types of fat that you find in vegetables and animals is made up of a mix of saturated, unsaturated, polysaturated, and monosaturated fatty acids. Generally there is little difference between the number of calories in saturated fat or unsaturated fat, with both having about 9 calories per gram.
While unsaturated fat is almost always liquid, it can be made hard by using a procedure called hydrogenation, which causes the oil to become solid. Crsico shortening is a good example of this, except that the process to make it hard actually turns what would otherwise be an unsaturated fat into a saturated fat, robbing it of its healthy properties.
Required Fatty Acids
With so much push in the diet world for fat free and low fat diets, it may come as a surprise that there are actually some types of fatty acids that are required in order to stay healthy. These types of fatty acids are often called EFAs, which stands for Essential Fatty Acids.
The essential fatty acids consist of polysaturated fats, which are required for a number of bodily activities. There are actually a great number of diseases that can be treated using EFAs, including heart disease, which may come as a surprise to many people.
Sadly, most foods actually end up stripping out the EFAs during processing, instead replacing the healthy fats with synthetic fats, like trans-fat and hydrogenated fat. As a result, the synthetic fats end up pushing the EFAs out of the way, so the body uses the un-healthy fats. It is estimated that around 80% of our culture does not get enough EFAs.
What are EFAs and How do They Help the Body?
There are actually only two fatty acids that are classified as essential, specifically linoleic acid(LA) and alpha-linolenic acid(ALA.) These Essential Fatty Acids(EFAs) are used by the bodies cells and to aid in their functions, allowing the outer wall of the cell, the membrane, to remain permeable. This ensures that nutrients are able to pass through the membrane, while also allowing waste products to pass out.
Saturated fats actually work completely opposite of the EFAs, strengthening the cell membranes, which is why too many saturated fats can lead to heart disease.
Linoleic acid is found in vegetable oils, margarine, nuts, and seeds. One of its chief purposes is to allow water to move across the skin, as well as affecting the pituitary gland, helping to promote healthy skin. Alpha-linoleic acid has been shown to help fight heart disease and can be found in fish, vegetable oil, and flaxseed oil.
While there are only technically two essential fatty acids, linoleic and alpha-linoleic, these fatty acids actually create other types of fatty acids, which are used by the body to fight infection, prevent abnormal clotting, and prevent inflammation. The fatty acids produced by the EFAs also create other chemicals, which are used by the body to regulate blood pressure and preform other functions.
So, even though there are only two EFAs, they are responsible for creating and maintaining a number of other chemicals used by the body to stay healthy. Of course, with most of our processed food stripping out these healthy fats, instead replacing them with saturated fat, it is no surprise that most western countries face obesity problems. This is especially true as saturated fats works at odds with the goals of EFAs.
Omega Fats Explained
Most people have at least seen the term Omega Fats, which is simply another term for EFAs. However, Omega Fats, usually not only contain EFAs, but also the other chemicals produced by the EFAs.
For example, Omega-3 Fatty Acids include not only alpha-linolenic acid, but also eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, both of which are byproducts of alpha-linolenic acid. The same is true of Omega-6 Fatty Acids, which contain linolenic fatty acids and its byproducts.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids are essential for normal growth and development, as well as for treating and preventing heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and high blood pressure. Omega-6 fatty acids are important for the healthy growth of hair and skin, as well as playing a role in reproduction and metabolism.
Another type of Omega fats, Omega-9 fatty acids, are not classified as EPAs, but have been shown to help protect against cancer and promote cardiovascular health. Olive oil contains Omega-9 fatty acids, which is one of the reasons olive oil is considered to be so healthy, and is a monsaturated fat.
Other Kinds of Fats
While triglycerides are the most common type of fat, sterols and phospholipds are another kind of fat. Cholesterol, which is necessary for healthy body tissue, is a type of sterol. Both sterols and phospholipids, which are made out of phosphorus and thus water soluble, are both used to help promote healthy cells in the body.