"Eating more of this oil can help prevent diseases" "This oil is closely related to the risk of disease"... We often hear discussions about the relationship between the fat in this edible oil and health. Of course, the relationship between edible oil and health mainly depends on the fatty acids in edible oil. So, what kinds of fatty acids are there, and what are the different functions of different fatty acids?

　　Don't refuse fat! It is important for maintaining health

　　Oil and fat are the main sources of energy, and they often give the impression that people tend to get fat if they eat more. Most women often stay away from oil for this reason. But fat is not only a source of energy, but also an important component of cell membranes. It is a physiologically active substance that inhibits inflammation. It has a variety of important physiological functions, and proper intake is very necessary. Generally for adults, the daily energy supply from fat should account for 25%-30% of the total energy.

　　The functions of oils and fats vary according to the fatty acid content they contain. Fatty acids are divided into saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids according to their chemical structure. Unsaturated fatty acids are further divided into monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The human body cannot synthesize monounsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids in the body on its own. The animal fatty acids contained in meat and dairy products are mostly used as energy sources. In addition, the fatty acids contained in olive oil and coconut oil are mostly such fatty acids.

In addition, the omega 6 fatty acids (n-6) and omega 3 fatty acids (n-3) in polyunsaturated fatty acids cannot be synthesized in the body on their own. In order to maintain health, they need to be taken from food and are called essential fatty acid.

Omega 6 fatty acids are represented by docosahexaenoic acid, which is mostly contained in edible oils. The lack of this fatty acid is prone to symptoms such as dry skin and difficult sperm formation; omega 3 fatty acids are mostly contained in fish oil Represented by EPA and DHA, it is believed to be closely related to brain and eye health and helps prevent depression.

Professor Tetsuyuki Kobayashi from Ochanomizu Women’s University in Japan stated: "Essential fatty acids play an irreplaceable role as an important physiologically active substance." Omega 6 fatty acids can cause inflammation to resist pathogenic bacteria against the body; but Omega 3 Fatty acids can inhibit the continued deterioration of this inflammation, because the human body cannot resist pathogenic bacteria without an inflammatory response, but if the inflammation continues to develop, it may induce cancer or allergies.

　　According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's 2015 Dietary Intake Standards, the co-intake of omega 6 fatty acids and omega 3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. If you only consume omega 6 fatty acids, it may increase the risk. In other words, the balance of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids in the diet is very important, and a 4:1 ratio is more appropriate.

　　Saturated fatty acids, which are generally considered unhealthy, may increase the risk of myocardial infarction when the intake is high, but at the same time it will also reduce the risk of cerebral hemorrhage. In other words, too little saturated fatty acid intake can also cause health hazards. Professor Hara Esaki from Showa Women’s University in Japan pointed out: “If you reduce or even skip dairy products in order to reduce saturated fatty acids, it may lead to a decrease in protein intake, and protein plays an important role in preventing cerebral hemorrhage.”

　　 You can’t just eat one kind of oil, fatty acid balance is very important

Not only fat, from a scientific point of view, it is not easy to study the health effects of nutrients contained in any kind of food. Food contains many ingredients. If you want to simply understand the impact of a specific nutrient on the human body, it is very difficult. difficult. Under normal circumstances, scientific experiments can only find that foods with more certain ingredients have a certain tendency to affect the human body, but it cannot indicate that a certain nutrient will definitely bring a certain effect.

　　 Recently, docosahexaenoic acid, which was widely promoted in the past as beneficial to health, has also stepped down from the altar. The dietary intake standard report stated: “Excessive intake of docosahexaenoic acid may increase the risk of breast cancer and myocardial infarction. This may be related to the oxidative nature of docosahexaenoic acid and its inflammation-causing effects. "In addition, although the EPA and DHA in Omega 3 are considered to prevent coronary artery disease and stroke, according to recent scientific research, the effect is statistically weaker.

　　 Many netizens will only eat a certain kind of oil because of the rumors on the Internet that "some kind of oil is good for health", but this kind of biased fatty acid intake will only harm their health. It is necessary to comprehensively consider the nutrition that people need, take oil in rotation, add other nutrients, and ensure a balanced diet to truly protect health.