Is fat essential? Or will a small amount of fat aid weight loss? Some nutritionists and scientists believe that a small amount of fatty acids or components of certain fats are essential for human nutrition. But there is no conclusive evidence for this except for rats. Asians, Africans and South Americans consume less fat and still live a healthy life free from heart attacks and strokes. Food or foodstuffs consists of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. Protein is essential for every form of life for growth. Animal sources of proteins are meat, fish, poultry, eggs and cheese. Vegetable sources are wheat, beans, peas, soya, nuts, kernels corn etc.
Fats contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in various combinations. Fats do not dissolve in water. They are tasteless and odorless. In order for fats to be utilized by the body, they must first be digested and broken down into constituent parts before being absorbed. The enzyme Lipase starts its job followed by steapsin, the enzyme manufactured by the pancreas and then bile, by the liver. These enzymes split the fat into the smallest possible parts and are then absorbed through the intestinal wall and passed either on the blood stream or into the liver as chyle, a milky or creamy serum.
Fats absorbed by the liver undergo further chemical breakdown and metabolic changes before they enter the blood stream as cholesterol. Much of the fat is broken down by the liver cells into cholesterol and excreted into bile and goes back into the intestine in various forms. Now that the fats have entered the blood stream, they circulate and are deposited in various parts of the body such as abdomen and hips.
These fats can destroy or damage your arteries. There is a definite correlation between the amount of fats in the blood stream and in the artery wall. These circulating fats sometimes attach themselves on the inner layer of the artery and form a plaque. When the plaque grows larger in course of time the artery gets clogged and finds it difficult to supply blood and nutrients to the vital organs. So be careful about the fat you are stowing away. One of the factors influencing heart attacks has been the startling increase in fat intake. Let us 'Eat to live' and not 'Live to eat'. Where fat formerly constituted some 15 to 20 percent of our meals 50 years ago, it has now jumped to 30 and 40 percent or more. Losing excess weight should be a priority.
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