There are mainly two categories of fats. They are saturated fat, and unsaturated (which include polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats). Some fats are dangerous, while others are not.
When fats combine with proteins in the body, they form a complex called Lipoproteins. Let’s look at the major kinds of fats.
Saturated fat
Fatty acids are made up of several chains of carbon atoms, it is said to be saturated because the carbon atoms have no free bonds to link with other atoms. Normally a carbon atom has 2 free bonds that are ready to attach with other atoms to form a compound. When these free bonds are used up entirely, usually by another carbon atom or a hydrogen atom, the fat becomes saturated. That is because there is no room for any more attachment.
Saturated are the bad type of fats and should be avoid to stay healthy. The body has a hard time processing saturated fat, because of the number of bonds it needs to break down in the process. Saturated fats raises cholesterol levels, which increases the chances of a heart attack. For a healthy dieting plan, saturated fats must be reduced in the diet. Some sources of saturated fat are, all forms of fat in animal meat, palm oil, and coconut oil etc.
Polyunsaturated fat
Polyunsaturated fat appears in two types: omega 6 and omega 3. The term ‘poly’ is used because there are more than one unsaturated bonds in the compound. Omega 6 type comes mainly from vegetables, and omega 3 comes from oily fish.
This type of fat is the healthy type and it helps to reduce the level of cholesterol. So a “small” consumption is important for health.
Monounsaturated fat
They have only one carbon atom carrying unsaturated bonds. They are found mainly in vegetables, also in olive oil and almond oil. They are also able to help reduce cholesterol levels.
Lipoproteins:
They are fat-protein complexes and play important role in the development of heart attacks. They are two types of lipoproteins.
High Density Lipoproteins- These reduce the chance of a heart disease.
Low Density Lipoproteins- Increases the chances of heart diseases. If the level of LDL is higher than that of HDL, the likelihood of a heart disease, stroke diabetes etc. is increased.
Fats creates very high levels of energy and your daily intake shouldn’t exceed 30% of your total calories. This is of course if you are not trying to loss weight, but if you are; your daily fat consumption should go lower than that.
This can be achieved by cutting down on all fatty foods and eating more of vegetables and fruits, a little of pure carbohydrates. With little or no fat at all, you will soon get used to the low fat diet.