Fats are one of the three macronutrients that the body requires for fuel, the other two being protein and carbohydrates. While protein and carbs provide the body with 4 calories per gram, fats provide 9 calories per gram. They have a higher caloric density, which means you eat less of the food and have a higher calorie intake compared to proteins and carbs.
A brief chemistry lesson:
Fats, or fatty acids, are made up of carbon and hydrogen. They are classified based on their fatty acid chain length and by the way that hydrogen molecules bind to the carbon molecule. The carbon chain could be short, medium, or long. The specific carbon/hydrogen bonds in the fatty acid chain determine whether it is saturated, mono-unsaturated, or poly-unsaturated. Butter contains mostly short-chain, saturated fatty acids. Olive oil contains mostly long-chain mono-unsaturated fatty acids. OK, enough chemistry.
This chain is important because this is what gives each fat it’s specific characteristics. Whether it is liquid or solid, how it responds to heat while cooking, and how the fatty acid structure changes at different temperatures are some of these characteristics. And perhaps the most important thing; how the body can use it.
In our body, fats are required for many known processes and likely many more that we don’t know about yet. Fatty acids are part of the cell membrane in every cell in the body (in the form of cholesterol). They are used to make hormones and steroids. They are an essential component of the myelin sheath that protects nerve cells. They provide the fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D, and K. In short, adequate fatty acid intake is an essential requirement for good health.
And so our series about fats begins. We will investigate the different fats in our diet and breakdown the health aspects and information about how each is best used in cooking. First up: the increasingly popular coconut oil. Also on the chopping block: olive oil, canola oil, nut and seed oils, Omega 3-6-9 essential fatty acids, butter, and others.
A note about trans fats:
There are many different types of naturally occurring saturated and unsaturated fats. The word hydrogenation describes the process of taking an unsaturated fat and chemically altering it creating a synthetic saturated fat, also known as a trans-fat. A good example of this process is taking a liquid vegetable oil and creating a solid margarine by changing the fatty acid structure of the oil. When you see the words trans-fat or hydrogenated oil on a nutrition label, you know that it is a synthetic fat. Trans fats have a very long shelf life, and consequently are used as a preservative in many processed food items you find on the shelves of grocery stores. Trans fats are not used for fuel by the body, and in fact promote disease by interfering with normal cell function.
