About fats

Lipids, or fats, are fatty organic substances and the most efficient source of energy we can supply to the body. If they are eaten in too large amounts and not burned, they can build up as deposits in the fatty tissue.

Specialists recommend reducing the consumption of saturated fats (animal fats and fats from cheese, butter, milk) and eating products that contain monounsaturated fats (obtained from plant products, liquid at room temperature and thickening at low temperatures – example: olive oil, olives) or polyunsaturated fats (likewise obtained from plant products, which stay liquid whatever the temperature – example: sunflower oil). Hardened fats – made from unsaturated fats with hydrogen added, for example margarine – contain trans fatty acids; eat as little of them as possible. The role of lipids is structural and plastic, taking part in the formation of the cell membrane, as well as energy-giving, immune-protecting and important for the absorption of vitamins and nutrients.

Our body needs essential fatty acids, since it cannot produce them itself and they have to be taken in through food. The main sources of Omega 3 are: oily fish – salmon, mackerel, sea bream, herring, sardines, and for Omega 6: vegetable oils.

Depending on age, weight and daily physical activity, a daily fat intake of between 20 and 35 % of the total calorie intake is recommended. 1 g eaten contains 9.3 kcal, more than twice as much as protein and carbohydrates. For this reason, on a low-calorie diet we have to watch the amount of fat we take in (a single extra tablespoon leads to a considerable calorie intake).

If we take as an example a yogurt whose nutritional label shows *1.5 g of fat*, the calculation of the calorie content is: 1.5 x 9.3 = 13.95 kcal. If we assume that we have a diet of 2000 kcal a day, then for 100 g of this yogurt the fats have a weight of 0.7 % of the total. In this way the weight of lipids can be worked out every day.

Why do we feel that fat-free food has no taste? Precisely because fats hold on to the flavours and intensify them, and when we cook without fat, whether of animal or plant origin, we get the impression that the food is dull. Giving up every kind of lipid is not recommended, but a gradual reduction until you reach a percentage that does not make you fat or cause cardiovascular disease is one way of getting used little by little to the taste of low-fat food. A high consumption of saturated fats is linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease, while eating unsaturated fats protects the cardiovascular system.

See also „Too much vs. too little FAT“