Oils and Fats

Oils and fats

1 Tbsp (corn oil)-

123 cal;
14 gm fat;
1.4 gm saturated fatty acids;
7.4 gm linoleic acid.

Oils are an extremely important part of the diet, although only between two teaspoons and two tablespoons are usually needed daily by the body for optimum health. A diet that provides this amount of oil and little carbohydrates has been found to promote the least storage of fat in the body. If much more than this amount of oil is eaten, however, it can be stored as a particularly flabby kind of fat so daily consumption of oil should be carefully regulated (the American Heart Association recommends no more than four tablespoons of oil a day). Those on weight reduction diets will find that weight is lost faster and kept off better if some amount of oil is included in the diet. Oil may help against water retention, retard emptying of the stomach thus giving a fuller feeling and stimulate the burning off of saturated body fats. Oils have also helped in some cases of dry hair and skin, eczema, swelling of feet and ankles from edema, some forms of menstrual problems, lack of fertility, and loss of interest in sex. However, they can only help with these problems if a deficiency of oils and fats has been instrumental in bringing about these conditions in the first place.

Oils and fats are classified as either saturated or unsaturated, a reference to their hydrogen content. If the fats are filled with hydrogen hydrogenated the fatty acids they contain are closed against joining with other substances in the body and promoting the body’s health. When these fats and oils are not filled with hydrogen, they can provide unsaturated fatty acids, which join with other nutrients in the body, especially with the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and help promote health. These unsaturated fats and oils are necessary as a part of every body cell as well as of the hormones of the adrenal and sex glands; they are also important for normal functioning of the nerves and brains and for promotion of beneficial intestinal bacteria that produce B vitamins within the body. Most oils and fats are a combination of saturated and unsaturated fats, with one or the other type predominating. Solid fats such as butter, lard, hydrogenated cooking fats, meat fats, and some kinds of margarine (see margarine) are predominantly saturated; liquid fats such as those in fish and vegetable oils are predominantly unsaturated and are usually fairly well supplied with linoleic acid, the most important of the essential fatty acids, since it is the only one that promotes reproduction as well as growth and health. All of the essential fatty acids, provided by polyunsaturated oils, are important in the body’s production of lecithin, which may help prevent high blood cholesterol, helping to break down the fats and cholesterol in the blood into easily assimilated products. A high intake of saturated fats increases the body’s need for linoleic acid, which unfortunately they do not provide, so they may leave the body worse off than if little or no source of oil is included in the diet.

Most vegetable oils, especially corn, soy, and wheat germ oils, provide some amount of vitamin E, but except for wheat-germ oil the amount is generally not enough to be important to the diet the E is mostly beneficial in protecting other nutrients in the oil from being destroyed by oxygen, and the E itself can be destroyed by exposure to air, refining, processing that involves high heat, or cooking. Because of the loss of this vitamin during refining, cold pressed vegetable oils, processed without high heat, often contain the most nutrients.

Especially with the cholesterol problems facing many Americans today, it is important to be careful when purchasing, using, and storing oils. For instance, most vegetable oils corn, safflower, cottonseed, peanut, soybean, sesame, and sunflower seed oil are polyunsaturated (containing several unsaturated fatty acids). Olive oil is monounsaturated and neither harms nor helps cholesterol level, and palm oil, cocoa butter, (see chocolate), and coconut oil are rich in saturated fats, and can be harmful to cholesterol level. Coconut oil is often used for cooking in some restaurants, in the manufacture of many processed foods such as cookies, crackers, and potato chips, and forms the basis for many nondairy creams and milk substitutes, so it is important to read labels. Oils should be stored in the refrigerator to prevent them from going rancid if they don’t have to be stored in the refrigerator, that means that they’re hydrogenated and thus generally full of saturated fats. A sensible plan for the most beneficial intake of oils and fats is to continue using about the same amounts of oils as usual, but replace animal and other. hydrogenated fats with polyunsaturated fats, using oils for cooking, seasoning, and salad dressings. The most important rule with oils is to keep to the straight and narrow wander off on the side of too little or too much, and your body may be nutritionally the worse for it.