Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest because the body requires them for good health but cannot synthesize them. The term “essential fatty acid” refers to fatty acids required for biological processes but does not include the fats that only act as fuel.

The Benefits of Essential Fatty Acids

• Formation of healthy cell membranes.
• Proper development and functioning of the brain and nervous system.
• Proper thyroid and adrenal activity.
• Hormone production.
• Regulation of blood pressure, liver function, immune and inflammatory responses.

Terms in this set (10) What are the 2 essential fatty acids? Linoleic acid and Alpha Linolenic acid.

Essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency is rare, occurring most often in infants fed diets deficient in EFAs. Signs include scaly dermatitis, alopecia, thrombocytopenia, and, in children, intellectual disability. Diagnosis is clinical.

1. Which of the following is a feature of polyunsaturated fats? they are stored in adipose tissue. they lower HDL and raise LDL cholesterol in the body.

Nutrition

Polyunsaturated fat is a type of dietary fat. It is one of the healthy fats, along with monounsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated fat is found in plant and animal foods, such as salmon, vegetable oils, and some nuts and seeds.

Unhealthy or “bad” fats

• Commercially-baked pastries, cookies, doughnuts, muffins, cakes, pizza dough.
• Packaged snack foods (crackers, microwave popcorn, chips)
• Stick margarine, vegetable shortening.
• Fried foods (French fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, breaded fish)

There are two types of fat that should be eaten sparingly: saturated and trans fatty acids. Both can raise cholesterol levels, clog arteries, and increase the risk for heart disease.

In general, people feel fats are less harmful than sugar and end up eating far more fat than is healthy, according to the USDA. Because they both add calories to your diet, it is important to be aware of both and make an effort to limit solid fats and added sugars as often as possible.

Adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 sugar cubes). Children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than 24g of free sugars a day (6 sugar cubes). Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19g of free sugars a day (5 sugar cubes).

On the basis of the information collected by the USDA, we found that the amount of sugar is higher in the low-fat (that is, reduced calorie, light, low fat) and non-fat than regular versions of tested items (Friedman P=0.00001, Wilcoxon P=0.0002 for low-fat vs regular food and P=0.0003 for non-fat vs regular food).

If you don’t get enough fat in your diet, you may notice symptoms such as dry rashes, hair loss, a weaker immune system, and issues related to vitamin deficiencies. To help maintain good health, most of the fats you eat should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

Why you shouldn’t be eating low-fat yogurt Yet one serving of low-fat yogurt can contain as many as 30 grams of sugar — that’s 60% of your daily USDA limit. The reason low-fat yogurts often have so much sugar is simple: They don’t have as much fat.

For starters, reduced-fat milk has only fractionally more sugar than full-fat milk. Per 100ml, light milk has 4.8g sugar, while skim milk has 5g sugar — compared to the 4.7g sugar in full-fat milk. So yes, reduced-fat milks do have a bit more sugar — but the difference is so slight it’s meaningless.

Plant-based options such as cashew, almond, hemp, flax, soy, coconut, and macadamia milk seem to be the best milk alternatives for weight loss. Not only are they dairy and lactose-free, but they are low in calories and have no saturated fats.

Full-fat yogurt is a cholesterol-rich food packed with nutrients like protein, calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and potassium. One cup (245 grams) of full-fat yogurt contains 31.9 mg of cholesterol, or 11% of the RDI (35).

Greek yogurt has been connected to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Can yogurt lower cholesterol? Several studies have examined the effect of eating yogurt on cholesterol levels. A 2013 study linked yogurt consumption to healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In the study, yogurt eaters seemed to have a better metabolic profile than those who didn’t eat yogurt.

Moreover, plenty of water can improve your metabolic rate, which may help you lose weight. Cholesterol is not water soluble. But, the more hydrated you are, the better your body functions to bring HDL, the “good” cholesterol, to clear from blood vessels.

A 1-cup serving of skim milk has 83 calories, no saturated fat, and only 5 mg of cholesterol.

• Raw Cow’s Milk and Foodborne Illness.
• Almond Milk: No Cholesterol, No Saturated Fat.
• Coconut Milk Beverage: No Cholesterol, High in Saturated Fat.
• Goat’s Milk: High in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol.

Dark chocolate contains some stearic acid and this has led to claims that chocolate does not raise blood cholesterol. Unfortunately, dark chocolate also contains saturated fats which do raise cholesterol.

Consuming dark chocolate can improve several important risk factors for heart disease. In a controlled study, cocoa powder was found to significantly decrease oxidized LDL cholesterol in men. It also increased HDL and lowered total LDL for those with high cholesterol ( 9 ).