Fats

• Fats and oils are used when talking about food preparation, whereas lipids are used when explaining the chemical processes in your body.
• Fats play an important role in our diets; they help us with energy and essential vitamins and fatty acids.
• When you over consume the recommended amount of fat, it can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
• Fats and oils are chemically the same and have the same energy value; fats are solid at room temperature, whereas oils are liquid.
• Fats are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; the way the carbon and hydrogen are chemically structured determines if they are unsaturated or saturated.
• Triglycerides are molecules that include one unit of glycerol and three fatty acids.
• Saturated fats are the least healthy fats; they are often found in animal sources, such as butter, lard, full-fat dairy products, visible fat in meats, and processed meats.
• Unsaturated fats are a healthier option; they are liquid at room temperature and promote healthier types of cholesterol.
• Monounsaturated fats are found in olive and rapeseed oils, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, and avocados; they have one double bond.
• Polyunsaturated fats are found in sunflower, soy, corn, and sesame oils; they have double bonds.
• Omega 3 and 6 polyunsaturated fats are known as the good types of fats; they prevent your blood from clotting and establish a regular heartbeat.
• Trans fats are vegetable oils that have been processed to make them hard; this is done by passing hydrogen through the liquid oil, a process called hydrogenation, which turns the liquid oil into a lump of fat.
• Omega 3 has health benefits such as helping with depression and eye development in infants; sources of omega-3 are salmon, mackerel, trout, and sardines.
• Plant sources of omega-3 are walnuts, soya, and rapeseed oil.
• Poultry sources of omega-3 are eggs, cereals, nuts, and vegetable oil.
• Invisible fats are fats that are within products, such as milk, cheese, ice cream, etc., whereas visible fats are fats you can see, such as the rind on bacon.
• Prolonged weight gain and obesity can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
• Fat can lead to weight gain if the energy balance is not monitored.
• Total fat intake for men is 95g, for women it's 70g.
• Saturated fat intake for men is 30g, for women it's 20g.
• Cholesterol is a waxy substance that circulates in the blood; it doesn't dissolve in the blood, but it bonds to carriers of “lipoproteins”.
• Low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) can build up in your arteries, leading to coronary heart disease.
• High-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) can carry cholesterol from other parts of the body to the liver, and then the liver processes the cholesterol out of the body.