Also called: Also called: Lipids, Monounsaturated fat, Polyunsaturated fat, Saturated fat
Fat is a major source of energy and aids your body in absorbing vitamins. It's important for proper growth, development and keeping you healthy. Fat provides taste to foods and helps you feel full. Fats are an especially important source of calories and nutrients for infants and toddlers. Dietary fat also plays a major role in your cholesterol levels.
But not all fats are the same. You should try to avoid
- Saturated fats such as butter, solid shortening, lard and fatback
- Trans fats, found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils
Try to replace them with oils such as corn, canola, olive, safflower, soybean and sunflower. Of course, eating too much fat will put on the pounds.
Food and Drug Administration
- Dietary Fat(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/basics/fat.htm
- Know Your Fats(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=532
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005: Fats(Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter6.htm
- Fatty Fish May Cut Heart Failure Risk in Men(04/22/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83233.html
- Excessive Meat and Dairy May Harm Sperm Quality(04/15/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_82978.html
- Omega-3s of No Added Benefit to Heart Attack Patients(03/30/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_82314.html
- More News on Dietary Fats http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_d.html#dietaryfats
- Butter vs. Margarine: Which Is Better for My Heart?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/butter-vs-margarine/AN00835/METHOD=print
- Fat Substitutes(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4633
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Fats and Oils to Choose
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbisupport.com/chd1/Tipsheets/tipsheet-satfat.htm
- Olive Oil: What Are the Health Benefits?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/food-and-nutrition/AN01037/METHOD=print
- Trans Fats(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045792
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What Are "Oils"?(Dept. of Agriculture) - http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/oils.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/sp-oils.html
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What Are "Solid Fats"?(Dept. of Agriculture) - http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/discretionary_calories_fats.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/sp-discretionary_calories_fats.html
- Controlling Fat in Your Diet(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/basics/controlling_fat.htm
- Count Your Fat Grams Worksheet(Women's Heart Foundation) - http://www.womensheart.org/content/Nutrition/counting_fat_grams.asp
- Fats & Cholesterol(Harvard School of Public Health) - http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/index.html
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Trans Fat Now Listed with Saturated Fat and Cholesterol on the Nutrition Facts Label(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/transfat.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/stransfa.html
- My Fats Translator(American Heart Association) - http://www.myfatstranslator.com/
- Test Your Fats IQ(American Heart Association) - http://facethefats.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3047294
- Bad Fats Brothers(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3055398
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Better Fat Sisters(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3055399
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Cut Down on Fat - Not on Taste!(Healthy Roads Media) - http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/english/Files/flv/engfat.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Fatty Acids(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=%22Fatty+Acids%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Fatty Acids, Omega-3(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=%22Fatty+Acids,+Omega-3%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Dietary Fats(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=dietary+fats
- Most Americans Don't Know "Better Fats" Benefit Heart Health(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=479
- Omega-6 Fatty Acids: Make Them a Part of Heart-Healthy Eating(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=650
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Oro-sensory perception of dietary lipids: new insights into the fat... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19367762&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Health tips. Taking fish oil. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19360979&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation of orange juice increases plasma phospholipid... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19328267&tool=MedlinePlus
- Dietary Fats -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=dietary+fats[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+systematic[sb])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Nutrient Lists(Dept. of Agriculture) - Links to PDF - http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=15869
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
- Food and Drug Administration - http://www.fda.gov/
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Fats and Your Child(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/fat.html
- Learning about Fats(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/fat.html
- Figuring Out Fat and Calories(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/fat_calories.html
- Importance of Dietary Fat and Cholesterol: A Guide for Teens(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/cholesterol.html
- Cholesterol - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cholesterol.html
- Heart Diseases--Prevention - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseasesprevention.html
- Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nutrition.html
- Triglycerides - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/triglycerides.html
- Food and Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodandnutrition.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Dietary Fats is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
Dietary Fats - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/dietaryfats.html