Saturated fats
Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and the main sources are butter, animal fats, coconut and palm oil, milk and milk products. Long chain fatty acids are found in animal fats. Saturated fats impair cardiovascular health and are hard to digest. These fats raise total and bad cholesterol levels. Ghee has short chain fatty acids. These are easy to digest and promote good health.
The fats in animal fats are tough on the body, while the ones found in dairy products are easily absorbed.
Unsaturated fats
These are fats which are derived from vegetables and plants and are liquid at room temperature; so all oils except for coconut oil. Just like proteins has essential amino acids or IAA, which cannot be synthesized by the body and need to be provided by our diet, fat too has EFA (essential fatty acids). It’s important to get them through our diet to maintain good health.
Unsaturated fats are further divided into three groups:
Mono unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)
These are found in peanuts, olives, nuts, canola oil, avocados, and almonds. They play a vital role in maintaining the health of the heart. The demand for olive oil has grown tremendously in the last few years, due to its health benefits. Peanut oil and rice bran oil have a strong content of MUFA. Their fatty acid content is similar to olive oil, and they have a flavor which is much better suited to Indian cooking than olive oil. Oleic acid has excellent benefits over skin such as moisturizing the skin, keeping it glowing; some hair growth vitamins are made with it.
Poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)
The two types PUFA is omega 3(Essential Fatty acid) and omega 6. These are also liquid at room temperature. Omega 6 is found in sunflower, safflower and soy bean oils (most vegetable oils are predominantly PUFA). Omega 3 is found in flax seed 3 is found in flax seed, walnuts and the oil nuts in fish. It reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and boosts the immune system. We should have equal amounts of omega 3 and omega 6. But in diets today, the ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 has grown as skewed as 20:1, which can lead to the hardening of arteries and an increase in cardiovascular diseases.
Trans fats
This is the new kind of fat which was formulated to preserve food and give it fine texture. It is prepared by transforming unsaturated fats into saturated fats called hydrogenation. Trans fats are commonly used in restaurants, fast food chains and companies that produce food on a large scale and for commercial purposes, as it is cheaper. Most processed foods, store-brought cakes, fast food such as pizzas and burgers, etc have this kind of fat. It is rightly called bad fat as it increases the levels of low density lipo-protein or bad cholesterol in our body. This is the kind of fat that is best avoided.