Fat is an essential component of our diet. Our bodies require certain amounts of fat to maintain health and prevent diseases. It makes our food tasty because it carries flavors; enhance texture and smell of food. However, modern diets contain far more fat than the body needs. For a well balanced diet, we need 30 to 35% of fat from our total calorie intake. In reality, most diets derive at least 40% (and sometimes a lot more) of energy from fats. Too much, especially too much of the wrong type of fat, can cause serious health complaints including obesity, higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which in turn leads to a greater risk of health disease.

Like small fire, it is useful to cook and heat up the room. The right amount of fats keep the skin smooth, vitamins and minerals absorbed and our body healthy

• It is a concentrated source of energy – 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories, much more than 1 gram of protein or carbohydrate, which both contains 4 calories per gram. Fat keeps you fuller, longer with lesser amounts of foods.
• When required, the body can tap into the fat reserve, converting into energy
• It provides a cushion to help protect vital organs. Without fats our organ would be prone to damage. Furthermore, fat acts as an insulator, helping us to maintain body temperature.
• It enables our bodies to process and absorb vitamins A, D, E & K, because they only dissolve in fats. Good fat is also required for fish oil supplements to be efficiently absorbed into our body.

When fire goes out of control, it is dangerous and life threatening. Too much fats can contribute to serious health issues such as heart attack, obesity and diabetes.

• Due to its high calorie value, it is easy to over consume when eating fatty foods. Unused calories will be stored in the body as fats, leading to weight gain
• Our body is hard wired to store fats for times when food is less available, storing fat when food is plentiful and burning it off when food is scarce. In the modern world, and for most people, food is available all year around and at all time – our bodies continue to store fat but were never burned off, as fat accumulates we become overweight.
• It provides cushion to protect organs, however too much cushioning means more bulk and weight, which in turn increases the workload of the heart and other organs.

In the next post, we will talk more about the types of fats and what are their roles in our body. Stay tune