Fat, Trans Fat, Saturated Fat - What You Need To Know About Fat


by Ian Robertson - Date: 2006-12-11 - Word Count: 258 Share This!

What is fat? Does it serve a purpose? If you ask many on the street , they would assuredly tell you that fat is "bad" and that they need to get rid of theirs. While one can certainly possess too much fat, it does play a vital role in our daily lives and is misunderstood to say the least.

Both dietary fat and stored fat are necessary for survival, but it needs to be understood that dietary fat is certainly not the cause of excess stored fat.

In chemical terms, fat can best be defined as any group of natural esters of glycerol and various fatty acids that are solid at room temperature. This description best applies for saturated fats, but unsaturated fats are fats too. However, they are essentially the same ester groups of glycerol, only they are liquid at room temperature.

Fats play a large role that is often underplayed by those within the fitness community. Fat cannot be lived without. Fat serves as insulation for our internal organs. The heart, kidneys, and other organs are surrounded by adipose tissue which helps not only to protect them from injury, but to hold them in place as well.

Fat is also vital for the breakdown of the vitamins A, K, D, and E. In summation, fat is truly important for daily functions, which is why are bodies need a bare minimum of 12% for women and 7% for men. It protects our organs, regulates body temperature, nourishes our skin and helps fortify our bones, without which we'd be most certainly be dead.


Related Tags: weight loss, obesity, diet, fat, belly fat, trans fat, body fat, what is fat, hydrogenated fat

Ian Robertson is an established personal trainer and nutrition advisor helping people lose weight at PhenForum.com, the online weight loss support group. See which foods contain healthy fats by visiting this page about fats we eat. Or, if you're ready to take advantage of our weight loss expertise, click here to create your free account for instant support and motivation.

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