What Is Fat?
The Role of Fat
Fats are an important component of our brains and play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function. Good fats also play a vital preventative role against high cholesterol. In women fats are also important for childbearing and hormonal related functions. They also serve as energy stores for the body. Fats are broken down in the body to release glycerol that can be converted to glucose by the liver and used as a source of energy.
For children fats are an important source of energy. In the first six months of life about 50% of the daily energy intake is derived from fat (this is the composition of breast milk). After that, the amount of energy from fat should be reduced to 30-35% by the age of five years, but is still an important dietary requirement.
The Role of Fat
Fats are an important component of our brains and play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function. Good fats also play a vital preventative role against high cholesterol. In women fats are also important for childbearing and hormonal related functions. They also serve as energy stores for the body. Fats are broken down in the body to release glycerol that can be converted to glucose by the liver and used as a source of energy.
For children fats are an important source of energy. In the first six months of life about 50% of the daily energy intake is derived from fat (this is the composition of breast milk). After that, the amount of energy from fat should be reduced to 30-35% by the age of five years, but is still an important dietary requirement.