Dietary Fats
Nutrition & DietDietary fats are a vital nutrient — needed for cell membranes, hormones, brain health, and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). The Indian concern is not total fat — it's the type of fat and how it is cooked.
Also known as: Lipids, Monounsaturated fat, Polyunsaturated fat, Saturated fat
Last updated
Videos about Dietary Fats (10)
5:17लिपिड चाचण्या कधी कराव्यात? | Cholesterol Test / Lipid Profile Test in Marathi | Dr Sarika Shah
Dr Sarika Shah
3.1K views
4:11डिसलिपिडेमिया: लक्षण और उपचार | What is Dyslipidemia? in Hindi | Treatment | Dr Rangeela P
Dr Rangeela P
3.3K views
16:34ডায়াবেটিসে ডিসলিপিডেমিয়া: চিকিৎসা | Dyslipidemia in Diabetes, in Bangla | Dr Major Debasish Saha
Dr Major Debasish Saha
1.4K views
9:25ডিসলিপিডেমিয়া কী? | Treatment of Dyslipidemia in Bangla| Abnormal Cholesterol | Dr Soumik Choudhury
Dr Soumik Choudhury
763 views
5:30ଡାଏବେଟିସ୍ରେ କୋଲେଷ୍ଟ୍ରୋଲ ବଢ଼ିଗଲେ: କ’ଣ କରିବେ? | Diabetes & High Cholesterol, Odia | Dr Madhusmita Sahu
Dr Madhusmita Sahu
36K views
6:33ডিসলিপিডেমিয়া কি? লক্ষণ ও চিকিৎসা | What is Dyslipidemia? in Bangla | Treatment | Dr Sagnik Sur
Dr Sagnik Sur
2.7K views
8:28लिपिड प्रोफाइल चाचणी कधी कराव्यात? | Lipid Profile/ Cholesterol Test, Marathi | Dr Pradnya Kale Jain
Dr Pradnya Kale Jain
1.7K views
5:22লিপিড প্ৰফাইল পৰীক্ষা: ইংগিত, ফলাফল | Lipid Profile Test, in Assamese | Dr Rukmini Bezbaruah
Dr Rukmini Bezbaruah
254 views
9:05સારવાર ન કરાયેલ ડિસ્લિપિડેમિયાની ગૂંચવણો શું છે? | Dyslipidaemia in Gujarati | Dr Kiran Prajapati
Dr Kiran Prajapati
142 views
5:23ডিছলিপিডেমিয়া: লক্ষণ, নিদান আৰু চিকিৎসা | What is Dyslipidemia? Assamese | Dr Abhinav Changkakoti
Dr Abhinav Changkakoti
121 views
About Dietary Fats
About this summary: Written by Swasthya Plus for Indian readers, using MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine as a reference source. For personal guidance, please consult a qualified Health Expert.
Dietary fats are a vital nutrient — needed for cell membranes, hormones, brain health, and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). The Indian concern is not total fat — it's the type of fat and how it is cooked.
The main types
- Unsaturated fats ("good" fats) — mustard oil, groundnut, sesame, rice bran, sunflower, olive oil, nuts, seeds, oily fish. These lower "bad" LDL cholesterol when they replace saturated or trans fats.
- Saturated fats — ghee, butter, coconut oil, palm oil, fatty meat, full-fat dairy. Fine in moderation; harmful in large daily amounts.
- Trans fats (most harmful) — formed when oil is reused and heated repeatedly (street-food fryers, "bhajia" oil used all day), and historically in vanaspati / partially hydrogenated oils used in bakery items, biscuits, and mithai. FSSAI has capped industrial trans fats at 2%, but reused frying oil at home or on the roadside is still a major source.
- Omega-3 fats — oily fish (rawas, mackerel, sardines), flaxseed, chia, walnuts, mustard oil. Protective for the heart and brain.
Indian practice, sorted
- Ghee in moderation (1–2 teaspoons a day) is fine for most people — it's not the villain it was called in the 1980s. A tempering (tadka) of ghee on dal is a reasonable food.
- Rotate cooking oils — mustard, groundnut, rice bran, sesame — rather than sticking to one. Each has a different fat profile.
- Do not reuse frying oil more than once, and never if it has darkened, smells rancid, or smokes quickly.
- Cut vanaspati, bakery ghee-substitutes, cream biscuits, packaged cakes, rusks, "loose" namkeens, and deep-fried street snacks — these carry the worst fats.
- Eat oily fish 2×/week if you eat fish; vegetarians should add flaxseed/walnuts and discuss an algal omega-3 supplement with a doctor.
How much total
- Total fat 20–35% of daily calories.
- Saturated fat under 10% of calories — about 20 g a day on a 2,000-kcal diet.
- Trans fat as close to zero as possible.
- Cooking oil: about half a litre per adult per month is a reasonable ceiling — most urban households use far more.
Reference source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine