In this article, we talk about the fats.

What are animal fats?

Animal fats are fats that are found in the bodies of animals. Generally, it does not include fish fat. Meat, milk, cheese and other dairy products, and butter are animal fats. Animal fats are high in saturated fatty acids.

In the past, the idea of reducing the intake of animal fats was introduced in the U.S., and similarly in Japan, the idea that meat containing a lot of saturated fatty acids is not good for the body and that we should consume less of it became popular.

However, this is an old way of thinking nowadays, just like the idea that bad cholesterol is bad for you, which I have discussed before on this site.

What are vegetable fats?

Vegetable fats, on the other hand, are products made by extracting the fat contained in plants.

Soybean oil, sesame oil, and olive oil are well known.

These oils are often added to frying pans when frying or used as frying oil when making tempura. They are mostly liquid because they contain a lot of unsaturated fatty acids.

The unsaturated fatty acids are usually in liquid form because of their low melting point. Coconut oil is high in saturated fatty acids and is often solid, while vegetable fats such as soybean, corn, and sesame, which are used in salad oils, are liquid.

In fact, there are some vegetable fats that you should be careful about.

Plant-based fats and trans fats to watch out for

There are some vegetable fats that are known to be bad for you. These are fats that contain a fatty acid called trans fatty acid. It is said that eating large amounts of fats that contain these fatty acids is not good for the body.

Typical examples are margarine, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, and sunflower oil. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare also introduces precautions about trans fatty acids.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that trans fatty acid intake should be less than 1% of total energy intake as a target to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve health.

Reference
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Questions and Answers on Trans Fatty Acids”

There are very few vegetable fats that do not contain trans fatty acids and can be considered good for you.

For example, olive oil and sesame oil, but in general, if you use them for frying tempura or cooking stir-fries, you don’t need to be too nervous because you don’t take in that much.

So, as long as you avoid margarine and use tempura sparingly, there should be no problem.

Finally.

Fats are not bad for you. There is nothing wrong with animal fats, but keep in mind this time that there are some types of vegetable fats that you should avoid a bit.

The government and foreign health organizations have come up with a list of foods that are not good for you and that you should be careful about. So we recommend that you pay attention and check the amounts and specific ingredients.

There are some foods that are bad for you, but not bad in normal amounts. On the other hand, there are some foods that are good for you, but become bad when you consume more of them, or when you have to consume uncommon amounts to get the desired effect.

We believe that a healthy diet can be achieved by taking in foods that can be easily incorporated into our daily lives and consciously avoiding those that should be avoided.