Butter paneer, fried potato, parathas, mutton/chicken gravy – A regular Indian meal is replete with food rich in fats and oils. With more and more doctors and nutritionists advocating a fat-free diet for a long life minus ailments, fats and oils have earned a bad name. Are all fats and oils bad for the body?Well, no. Some are in fact much needed for the body.
Most natural fats are composed of triglycerides which contain Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen and an alcoholic substance, glycerol. Structurally, these triglycerides are compounds of fatty acids with an alcohol group and it is the Carbon atoms in these fatty acids and their arrangement that is used to classify fats and oils in their categories.
The fats and oils that we can see superficially are called Visible fats and oils. With most food being consumed in the gravy form, there is a surfeit of visible fats and oils in the form of Groundnut, Olive, Mustard, Soybean, Rice bran, Safflower, Sunflower oils, butter, ghee, coconut, etc.
More Fats & Oils, Please! We Are Indians
Fats and oils have a key role to play in determining the health quotient and the onset of diseases. We may be obsessed with low-fat food foods, but it is important to remember the difference between good fats and bad fats and how they affect the health of our blood vessels, the heart and the overall quality of life.
So what makes fats and oils good or bad for the body? It is the carbon atom bonding present in the compounds that give them their status. Often, the carbon atom linkages in the oil are weak and stabilized by a one or more double bond. Based on the presence or absence of a ‘double bond’ between the carbon atoms, oil is classified as saturated or unsaturated.
The following are the examples of some oils along with their classification:
Fats and oils
The saturation or unsaturation of the fat/oil decides if the oil/fat remains liquid or solid at room temperature. Remember the greater the degree of saturation, the more solid the fat is at room temperature. are all examples of saturated fats in solid form at room temperature. All common vegetable oils and those present in cereals, nuts and oilseeds and vegetables2 are predominantly unsaturated.
FATTY ACIDS
Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids. While Omega-3 refers to the position of the first double bond in the 3-position, in omega-6 the first double bond is in the 6th position. Essentially fatty acids, these are not produced by the body and have to be provided in the diet.
Omega-6 fatty acids are represented by linoleic acid (LA), while Omega-3 by a–linolenic acid (ALA). LA, plentiful in nature, is found in the seeds of most plants. ALA, on the other hand, is found in green leafy vegetables, flax seeds, walnuts etc. Humans and most mammals can convert both to other important fatty acids in the body2. Omega-3 fatty acids also found abundantly in fish and fish oils. For optimal functioning of cells, there has to be a balance between omega 3 and omega-6 levels.
Cholesterol:
Another is Cholesterol. It belongs to a group called “sterol” and is actually a compound of fatty acid and sterol. An essential component of the structural membrane of all cells and also of brain and nerve cells, it is found only in animal foods Cholesterol is absent in vegetable oils.
In humans, cholesterol intake primarily comes from the consumption of animal foods. It is also produced internally when the body cells are synthesised. Serum cholesterol, which can be estimated by a blood test, is influenced by the dietary intake of cholesterol and also by the amount of fat, especially saturated fat intakes.
FATTY ACID COMPTION OF COMMONLY USED COOKING OILS
COCONUT OIL-SATURATED
OLIVE OIL -MONOSATURATED
GROUNDNUT -MONOSATURATED
MUSTERD-MONOSATURATED
SESME OIL-MONO AND POLYSATURATED
SUNFLOWER-POLYSATURATED
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