Fats

Fat is a component in food. Some food including vegetables and fruits have almost no fats, others may have plenty of fats such as oil, meat,butter.etc. Fat plays an important role in our body, functioning as an energy store, a cushion for vital organs and a transport system for fat-soluble vitamins. That is why we require some fat in our diet. However, as fat is a concentrated source of calories (9kcal/g compared to 4kcal/g for carbohydrate and protein), eating too much may lead to weight gain and obesity.

SO HOW MUCH FATS SHOULD I HAVE?

Fat should make up about 25-30% of our total energy intake. Based on a typical 2000kcal diet, the total fat allowance is about 55 to 65g a day. It’s easy to exceed this allowance if one is not mindful. If we take in too much fats for our total energy intake, it may lead to obesity and serious heart diseases.

Fats have many functions in the body, and these include:

• Important for providing energy and maintaining body temperature.
• Insulates and acts as a shock absorber for bones and organs.
• Helps the body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
• Is a structural component of myelin, the fatty insulating sheath surrounding each nerve fibre, enabling it to carry messages faster.

Fat deficiency is rarely seen in the modern society. However the danger of lack of fats may lead to weight loss, dryness of the skin, atopic eczema and others.

There are 4 kinds of fats

• Saturated fat
• Monounsaturated fat
• Polyunsaturated fat
• Trans fat

I will not be talking about every single kinds of fats except for trans-fat.

Here are some ways you can prevent yourself from having too much fats:

At home:

• Use less oil in cooking. Choose oils higher in unsaturated fat, and avoid re-using oils more than twice.
• Adopt healthier cooking methods (e.g. steaming, baking) more often. Replace coconut milk or coconut cream in cooking with low fat milk.
• Use fat spreads (e.g. margarine, butter, kaya, peanut butter) sparingly.
• Choose low fat dairy products, lean meats, fish and skinless poultry
• Consume fish at least twice a week. Replace meat in dishes with beans and bean products (e.g. tofu) on some days.

When eating out:

• Choose dishes prepared without coconut cream or coconut milk
• Replace fried noodles with soup noodles occasionally
• Limit deep-fried food to no more than twice a week.
• Consume high-fat bakery products (e.g. pastries, cakes and cookies) less often.
• Remove visible fat and skin from meat and poultry.
• Ask for less oil and gravy in food.

When Shopping for food:

• Read the ingredient list to identify products that contain hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats/oils/shortening. These are likely to be high in saturated and trans fat.
• Read the Nutrition Information Panel on food labels to compare the amount of fat in food products.
• Choose products with the Healthy Choice symbol as they are lower in total and saturated fat compared to other products in similar categories. These products also have no trans fat or only negligible amounts of it per serving.