Lipids - Healthy Dietary Fats

Question 1

Healthy Dietary Fats

Answer 1

• The importance of fat as a macronutrient in the diet has been understated and demonised.
• Eating fats from natural, unrefined foods should be the priority. Fat in the diet should be a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, but absent of trans fats.
• Fat-soluble antioxidants, e.g. vitamin E, are important when including fats in the diet. Foods rich in vitamin E include sunflower seeds, almonds and wheat germ.
• Focus on the quality of the fat and combine with foods naturally rich in antioxidants.

Question 2

Benefits

Answer 2

Benefits of including good amounts of healthy fats in the diet:
* Greater satiety value.
* Sources of essential fatty acids.
* Sources of choline (needed to synthesise phosphatidylcholine).
* Sources of essential fat-soluble vitamins and phytonutrients.
* Greater flavour enhancement in cooked food.

Question 3

Healthy dietary fats’ food sources:

Answer 3

Healthy dietary fats’ food sources:
* Fruit —avocado, olives.
* Seeds —chia, flax, pumpkin, hemp, seed butters.
* Seed oils —flax oil, chia oil, hemp oil, sunflower oil, olive oil. Ensure oils are cold pressed.
* Nuts —almonds, cashews, walnuts, Brazil nuts, nut butters.
* Other —coconut oil, grass-fed meat.
* Oily fish —salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring.