Fats are an important part of our diet, as they provide essential fatty acids which keep our skin soft, deliver fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K and are the biggest source of energy for our body.
Bad fats like saturated fats and trans-fats increase blood cholesterol levels and risk of certain diseases, whereas good fat protects your heart and supports overall health and helps to maintain a healthy body weight.
As per recommended Dietary Allowances for Indians, 25-30% of our daily calories need to come from fats.
Good fats mainly come from vegetables and fish products. Good fats contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Further, polyunsaturated fats are of two types: omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids. Ideally, omega 6to omega 3 fatty acid ratio is 5-10:1. This means most of the oils are rich in omega 6 fatty acids compared to omega 3 fatty acids.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids like omega 3 fatty acids are found in flax seeds (alsi), walnuts, canola oil, unhydrogenated soyabean oil and in fatty fishes like salmon (rawas), mackerel (bangda) and sardines. Omega 6 fatty acid is found in abundance in safflower, sunflower, soyabean and corn oils.
Monounsaturated fats should be used as much as possible along with polyunsaturated fats to replace bad saturated and trans-fat.Good sources of monounsaturated fats are nuts, avocado, olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil. Palm oil and coconut oil are rich in saturated fats.
While choosing a type of cooking oil, check the nutritional label or food fact behind the packet. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acid composition should be high in the oil compared to saturated and trans-fatty acid. These days certain oils are fortified with vitamins A, D, E and K and oryzanol. They have good nutritive value and have several health benefits.
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