Nutritional Aspects of Fats and Oils

Fats highly contribute to the food quality in terms of taste, smell, texture, and nutrition. Fats and oils consist mainly of triacylglycerols and other acylglycerols, where fatty acids are esterified with glycerol. This chapter discusses how all dietary fats and oils are made up of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in different proportions and affecting both melting point and nutritional value. The dietary guidelines for fat are presented and the scientific support for this advice is discussed.