Understanding Fats

In addition to carrying flavour and giving foods taste appeal, fat also gives food its texture e.g. whether a food is crispy or smooth and creamy.

On a gram by gram basis, fat has more calories than carbohydrates or protein. Therefore, by cutting down on the amount of fat you eat can really help boost weight loss. For a healthy balanced diet, women should try not to exceed 70g of fat per day and men 90g.

However, it's important to remember that the body needs a certain quantity of fat to complete vital functions, such as the absorption of vitamins.

The concern about eating fatty foods is not only the number of calories they contain, but depending on the type of fat, their potential for increasing the risk of disease. A diet high in saturated fat for example, increases the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.

The key lies in understanding the difference between 'good' fats and 'bad' fats.

Good Fats	Bad Fats
Polyunsaturates and Monounsaturates	Saturated Fats
Polyunsaturates and monounsaturates are healthy fats that are actually good for you in moderation. These include oily fish, nuts and seeds, avocados, sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil spreads and vegetable oils.	Saturated fats raise cholesterol and can block up the arteries to the heart. Foods high in saturated fats include foods containing animal fats such as butter, sausages, pastries, cakes and biscuits, cream, cheese etc.

If you're unsure how to work out if a food is high in fat then check the Food Standards Agency (FSA) guide below:

	High	Low
Total fat content	is more than 20g fat per 100g	is 3g fat or less per 100g
Saturated fat content	is more than 5g saturates per 100g	is 1.5g saturates or less per 100g

For more information on nutrition visit the FSA website.

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