There are numerous types of fat. Your body makes its own fat from taking in excess calories. Some fats are found in foods from plants and animals and are known as dietary fat. Dietary fat is one of the three macronutrients, along with protein and carbohydrates, that provide energy for your body. Fat is essential to your health because it supports a number of your body's functions. Some vitamins, for instance, must have fat to dissolve and nourish your body.

Your body needs fat to function properly. Besides being an energy source, fat is a component used in the production of several hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins that help regulate blood pressure, heart rate, blood vessel constriction, blood clotting and the nervous system. In addition, dietary fat carries fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K from your food into your body. Fat also helps maintain healthy hair and skin, protects vital organs, keeps your body insulated, and provides a sense of fullness after meals (satiety).

But clearly, too much fat can have a negative impact on your health. A high-fat diet can increase your risk of heart disease, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and some kinds of cancer and is a major culprit in weight gain. It may also lead to obesity, a risk factor for several diseases, including cancer, gallstones, diabetes, liver disease and osteoarthritis.

The good fats compete with bad fats, so it's important to minimize the intake of trans fats and cholesterol (animal fat) while consuming enough good fats. Also, good fats raise your HDL or "good cholesterol". One of the jobs of this High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) or "good cholesterol" is to grab your bad cholesterol, LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein), and escort it to the liver where it is broken down and excreted. In other words, these good fats attack some of the damage already done by the bad fats. This is very important in an age when so many people are struggling to get their cholesterol down, and fight heart disease and obesity.

Since fat plays a significant role in health, choose your foods and the types of fat you use wisely. When you have cholesterol (fat droplets that deposit along blood vessels) you need to be more careful about what type of fat you use. Here's a primer on the common types of fat found in food:

Along with saturated fat, trans fat will adversely raise your blood cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease. It will raise both the bad cholesterol (LDL) and total cholesterol. Tran?s fat also referred to as trans-fatty acids comes from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. This is the process where the vegetable oil is made into solid. This makes the fat more solid and less likely to turn rancid. This also makes the fat easily usable in things like bread. Hydrogenated fat is a common ingredient in commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies and cakes and in fried foods such as doughnuts and Chips (French Fries). Shortenings and some margarine are high in trans fat. It can also be used to make things like peanut butter soft and so easily spread on the bread. Look for the words HYDROGENATED or PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED in the list of ingredients to see if Trans fat is included. Some margarine labels state if the product has no trans-fatty acids.

When you think of "bad" fats, think saturated. Most saturated fats can increase your blood cholesterol levels and risk of coronary artery disease. Usually solid or waxy at room temperature, saturated fat is most often found in animal products - such as red meat, poultry, butter and whole milk. Other foods high in saturated fat include coconut, palm and other tropical oils.

Usually liquid at room temperature and in the refrigerator, polyunsaturated fats when used instead of saturated fats help lower blood cholesterol levels. In addition, they may help reduce the amount of cholesterol deposits on your arteries. Foods high in polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oils such as safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils. Sunflower and corn (maize) oil are commonly found in our market.
One type of polyunsaturated fat omega-3 fatty acids may be especially beneficial to your health. Omega-3 fat decrease your risk of heart attack, protect against irregular heartbeats and lower blood pressure levels. It may even protect against some cancers. You'll find omega-3s mainly in fish particularly in fatty, cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring. Lesser amounts are in flaxseeds, soybeans and canola oil (mainly found in the European market).
You can get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids by consuming two to three servings of fish per week. Pregnant women and women who plan to become pregnant during the next few years should consume a lot of fish. After all it has also been found to improve the intellectual development of the children.

1. Draft by Infonet October 2011
2. Review by Dr Alice Ojwang-Ndong January 2012