National Nutrition Week is observed during the first week of September. This week highlights the importance of optimum nutrient intake for better health and growth of the body. It is a great opportunity to create awareness about the important nutrients one should not miss.
The government of India started this initiative in 1982. The aim was to encourage good health and healthy living through proper nutrition education since malnutrition is the main hurdle in National Development.
Food provides our body with energy, protein, essential fats, vitamins, and minerals to live, grow, and function properly. Therefore, a balanced diet is important for good health and well being. It is said that an unhealthy diet increases the risk of many diet-related diseases.
Why fats are important for the human body?
According to Healthline, new research has revealed that fats are more on a continuum of good to bad than previously thought. While trans fats are harmful to our health, saturated fats are not currently linked with increased heart disease risk. However, they likely aren’t as healthy as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can be. Healthier fats are an important part of our diet, but it’s still crucial to moderate your consumption of them because all fats are high in calories.
The link between high-calorie foods (including saturated fats) and heart disease is long-established. But swearing off all fats isn’t the answer. Some fats are good for the human body, especially the essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in certain plants, seeds, oils, and cold-water fish.
Fats are a type of nutrient that you get from your diet. It is essential to eat some fats, though it is also harmful to eat too many. The fats you eat give your body energy that it needs to work properly. During exercise, your body uses calories from carbohydrates you have eaten. But after 20 minutes, exercise then depends on calories from fat to keep you going.
Types of Fats:
There are three types of fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Each is a mixture of different fatty acids, and each plays an important role in the body after it’s ingested. The specific amount of each fatty acid and its respective molecular structure determines whether the fat is a solid or liquid.
Saturated fats such as beef fat and hydrogenated oils form solids at room temperature because they are straight molecules. Monounsaturated fats, including olive oil, have one “kink” or bend in their structure and remain liquid (except in the refrigerator). The body can make both saturated and monounsaturated fats, so they are called nonessential.
Polyunsaturated fats are a different story. Even in the refrigerator, they remain liquid because of two kinks in their molecular structure. The human body can’t manufacture polyunsaturated fats, they must be supplied by dietary sources.
