V. Oils and Fats

V. Oils and Fats
• In general adults should consume at least 15 percent of their energy intake from dietary fats and oils,
• women of childbearing age should consume at least 20 percent.
• Active individuals who are not obese may consume up to 35 percent
• sedentary individuals up to 30 percent of energy from fat as long as saturated fatty acids do not exceed 10 percent of the energy intake
• cholesterol intake is limited to 300 mg per day.
• levels of fat intake for low-income countries calculated according to the recommended range (15 to 35 percent) of dietary energy from fat.
• Fats derived from land animals (e.g. butter and lard) usually contain a high proportion of saturated fatty acids and are solid at room temperature.
• Fats derived from vegetable products and marine animals (e.g. groundnut and cod-liver oils) contain more unsaturated fatty acids and usually liquid at room temperature and are termed oils.
• Coconut oil is an exception in that it contains mainly saturated fatty acids.
• A high intake of saturated fatty acids may contribute to raised serum cholesterol levels, which in turn may increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
Sources of Oils and fats:

1. Butter (mentega)
– Butter consists mainly of the fat from milk.
– It usually contains about 82 percent fat, with a trace of protein and carbohydrate; the rest is water.
– Butter is rich in vitamin A and has a small amount of vitamin D, but the content varies with the time of year and the diet of the cow from which it was derived.
– Usually about 800 mg of retinol and 50 IU of vitamin D are present in 100 g of butter.
– Butter and margarine are increasingly used in diets in developing countries as the use of bread increases.

2. Margarine
– Developed as a substitute for butter, margarine is made from various vegetable oils that are partially hydrogenated to give a product with a consistency similar to that of butter.
– In most countries vitamins A and D are added so that the final product is nutritionally very similar to butter.
– If these vitamins have been added, they will usually be mentioned on the margarine container.

3. Vegetable oils
– Vegetable oils are the cooking fats most commonly used in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and there are many different kinds.
– Except for red palm oil, they have the disadvantage of containing no vitamins except vitamin E.
– They are mainly low in saturated fatty acids.
– Commonly used vegetable oils are soybean, olive, maize, groundnut, sunflower, sesame, cottonseed and coconut oils.
– In their pure form, they are 100 percent fat and contain no water or other nutrients.
– Red palm oil is widely produced in West Africa and in certain Asian countries (e.g. Malaysia). In West Africa it is important in human diets, but elsewhere it is exported for soap production and not much consumed locally.
– The oil contains large quantities of carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, commonly 12 000 µg per 100 g (with a range from 600 to 60 000 µg per 100 g).
– It is therefore a very valuable food wherever a shortage of vitamin A occurs in the diet.
– Vitamin A deficiency will not be a problem in areas where all members of the family consume even small quantities of red palm oil.
– Encouragement should be given to its wider cultivation and consumption

4. Ghee
– Ghee is made by heating butter to precipitate the protein, which is then removed.
– Ghee contains 99 percent fat, no protein or carbohydrate, about 2 000 IU of vitamin A per 100 g and some vitamin D.
– It has good keeping qualities and is much used in tropical countries in place of butter, because butter soon goes rancid if kept unrefrigerated in warm temperatures.

5. Lard
– Lard is collected during the heating of pork.
– it consists of 99 percent fat and contains no carbohydrate, proteins, vitamins or minerals.