What is Fat?
Not all fats are bad for health. The body needs around 70 grams for women (95 grams for men) of fat each day to remain healthy and most of this should be 'good' unsaturated fats (click here for more information on good fats). This is equal to about one third of the calories we eat each day. Margarine and spreads are a valuable source of these polyunsaturated and monounsaturated 'good' fats.
The term 'fat' refers to triacylglycerols (TAG), phospholipids and cholesteryl esters. Dietary fat consists predominantly (90-98%) of mixtures of TAG. TAG consist of three fatty acids linked to a glycerol backbone. The mixture of fatty acids within the TAG and thus dietary fat determines its melting properties, degree of saturation and health effects.
Fatty acids are made up of three elements:
- Carbon
- Hydrogen
- Oxygen
Fatty acids can differ in chain length (number of carbon atoms), saturation (number of double-bonded hydrogen atoms), position (sn-1, sn-2 or sn-3) and geometry (cis or trans) of double bonds.
Use the navigation bar on the left to find out more about fat.
