Fats and Nutrition
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO NUTRITION AND EDIBLE FATS
Preamble
The science of nutrition is a rather
recent one: until now, its main formulation has been quantitative,
working through the determination of daily calorie requirements and
facing the qualitative aspects of food in a decidedly
undifferentiated way.Instead, more recent trends have been based on
a detailed analysis of man’s basic biochemical needs in order to
obtain dietary behavior parameters that can establish (or
reestablish) the balance of the body’s vital functions.Thus, there
is currently a "cultural revolution" under way in the field of
nutrition and it ranges from general instructions (such as "you need
to lose weight", low-calorie diets) to actual nutritional training
programs aimed towards prevention.
Dietary fat (lipids) represent one of the nutritional components
essential to man: ideally, they should not exceed 25% of the total
calorie intake and this should mainly comprise mono/polyunsaturated
fatty acids. Instead, fats represent more than 42% of the Western
diet and furthermore, most of these fats are saturated, coming from
meat and cheese. On the other hand, a diet that is too low in fat
can also be harmful to health (for example, this can lead to a
dispersion of Vitamin E, thus lowering the functions of the immune
system).
In addition, over 5% of our energy requirements need to be satisfied
by omega 6 fatty acids and about 1% by omega 3 fatty acids. These
are known as essential fatty acids, since they are fundamental to
life and can only be assimilated through food (only through specific
lipids). The omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids play a fundamental role
in the equilibrium of healthy cells and they are present in the
brain cells in particular, thus making them essential to proper
brain development in children. Moreover, they have also shown
beneficial effects on the heart and circulatory system, and they
have proven to help lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Research
done in the United States has also shown that there are other
therapeutic properties, particularly in omega 3, which is abundant
in cold-pressed linseed oil.
EDIBLE OILS
Edible
oils play an essential role in the human diet and are part of man’s
dietary fat requirements. Nevertheless, the chemical and physical
processes they undergo, as well as the use of raw materials from
farms that use antiparasitic agents and chemical pesticides, often
diminish the effects of the beneficial substances that are naturally
present in the seeds.
Moreover, certain thermically-degrade margarines and oils may
present fatty acids in a trans configuration, which allegedly has
toxic effects on a cellular level if ingested in moderate quantities
over a long period of time.
In Italy, our dietary history has led to widespread use of extra
virgin olive oil. This is undoubtedly one of the best products
because of its high content of monounsaturated acids (oleic acid)
and polyphenols (antioxidants) if it is made using special
technological processes (cold pressing) and is thus oil that has not
been rectified or subjected to high temperatures.
However,
extra virgin olive oil does not fully satisfy the body’s fatty acid
requirements, since it has a low percentage of polyunsaturates as
compared to other oil-bearing seeds, and also does not have a full
range of vitamins and natural antioxidants. High levels of natural
antioxidants are thought to be necessary to protect the body against
the action of the so-called free radicals, which are highly reactive
molecules that can damage the cell structure.
Recent scientific
studies have attributed the most dangerous and frequently-occurring
pathologies (cancer and heart attacks) to oxidative damage on a
cellular level. Other types of oleaginous seeds not only have a
better balance in terms of polyunsaturated fatty acids (olive oil
essentially has a monounsaturated acid, i.e. oleic acid), but they
also have larger amounts of micronutrients (vitamins, enzymes and
other antioxidant substances).
Polinsatured fats have always been available in our daily diet until
recent days: they used to be assimilated by chewing seeds or by
eating cereals (these fats are infact available in rice bran or oat)
or by eating the meat of grazing animals. Modern nutrition, entirely
based on refined food and on breeded meat causes enormous
nutritional defections, whilst our body needs more and more
polinsatured fats, vitamine E&D, antioxydizers (due to airpolution
and stress). Fortunately nature has put at our disposal a large
amount of natural antioxydizers, such as Vitamine E.
TO SUMMARIZE
- The human diet requires fats to fulfill man’s
energy and formative needs.
- Average fat consumption needs to be lowered and qualitatively
modified (from saturated to mono and polyunsaturated).
- Oil is a fundamental part of our daily diet because of its
fatty-acid content.
- It is important to choose from oils with a mono- and
polyunsaturated fat profile (no to hydrogenated products, such as
margarines nor chemically refined oils).
- In order to maintain the rich nutritional characteristics of
oleaginous fruit and seeds, it is essential to use a
true cold-pressing technology (done at room temperature solely
through the process of mechanically pressing the seeds, without any
other chemical or physical intervention).
- Extra virgin olive oil is good from an acidic standpoint (rich in
monounsaturated acids), especially when used for frying, but the
modern diet needs to be integrated with oils from other oleaginous
fruits and seeds in order to enhance its profile in terms of
polyunsaturated fatty acids and increase the level and quality of
antioxidants. There are other oleaginous fruits and seeds in nature
that present high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (including
therapeutic omega 3 and omega 6) and large amounts of vitamins,
enzymes and antioxidants. These work in synergy to reinforce our
immune defense system, which is subjected to stress and pollution
and thus presents ongoing deficits because of this.
- Therefore, it is important to alternate and integrate our
consumption of oils, since each one offers a different mix of fatty
acids and various antioxidants (each of which has its own unique
"therapeutic" characteristics).
- It is essential to use organic raw materials since they offer the
most in terms of nutrients and are free of any "contaminants".
Why didn't we use these oils before?
Also prior to the W.W II nutritional deficiencies existed,
especially caused by undernourishment. However thanks to a n
integral nutrition FFA's were taken in.
ORGANIC OILS:
- Selects top-quality raw materials that come
from certified organic farms and it checks them according to the
strictest international standards.
- It transforms them using a cold-pressing technology (at room
temperature) that guarantees proper production of these oils by
giving them an extremely high level of resistance against rancidity
and related oxidative phenomena.
- The oils produced in this way preserve the synergy of action of
theantioxidants that are naturally present in them, increasing
theirbio-availability (ability to be assimilated by the body) as
much as possible.
- The range of products can totally cover the body’s daily
requirements for fatty acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins and
other micronutrients that help act against harmful free radicals.
The relationship between food we eat and our health is very strong.
Thanks to nutrition mankind developed, discovered nature, got
adapted to difficult environmental conditions.Each diet got tested
and selected in thousands of years, using foods, flavourings,
preparation techniques peculiar to the population.
Certainly, a diet used for such a long time by a whole active and
laborious population is a very good diet.
However, our nutritional habits are changing because of a great
variety of food which is more and more manipulated and less
balanced, also because of induced sensory stimulants and of the very
fast rhythms of everyday life, in which instincts are less and less
important.
Because of the above mentioned reasons, mistakes are done in the
evaluation and in the choice of a good diet.
It is usual that the food we eat, besides being less balanced from a
nutritional point of view, contains also additives, preservatives,
colourings, as well as chemical residuals with serious consequences
on our health.
It
is possible to find a solution to that by choosing healthier and
vital food, coming from organic farming. Organic dieting means to
use whole food, eating food that is in season, fresh and properly
ripe. In fact the nutritional contents are greatly influenced by the
time of harvesting: we have at disposal many synergies and antidotes
in the numerous food preventive and therapeutic power substances.
Organic food, even if transformed, remains vital because it has been
manipulated as less as possible and obtained through soft techniques
which preserve all the nutritional values and allow to maintain
intact nutritional components with important protective properties.
Organic nutrition is vital for our planet, too, in fact organic
farming doesn’t waste soil and wood resources. Organic nutrition is
a life style in complete harmony with the surrounding nature, with
our body and mind.
Organic Oils Co.