Fat Production and Consumption

Among the major components of human diet, edible fats and oils are typically produced through various forms of technological manipulation of naturally available starting material. It is also generally recognized that dietary fat, namely the type and amount, playa significant role in modulating the health stat~s of large population groups in econ­ omically advanced countries, and that, more specifically, the onset and progression of a number of diseases of wide incidence and large socio-economical relevance, such as hyperlipidaemias, diabetes, hyper­ tension, are significantly affected by dietary fats. Associations operating in public health preventive programs and clinical associations in affluent countries have recommended changes of dietary habits and especially of fat consumption in the whole community. Among the parameters to be modified of special relevance are the re­ duction of total fat, of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol intake and to increase the amount of unsaturated fatty acids. It is, however, becoming more and more evident that each member of the complex fatty acid moiety of our diet may playa different role from a nutritional point of view. This is particularly true for the highly unsaturated compounds belonging to the two metabolic series n-6 and n-3, contained in high concentrations in vegetable oils and in lipids from marine animals respectively, as well as for oleic acid, contained in high concentrations in olive oil.

Inhalt

Nutrition - General Effects.- Conditions Influencing Essentiality of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.- Dietary Fats during Early Development.- Cardiovascular System The Significance of Dietary Fat for Metabolic Diseases and Atherosclerosis in Particular.- Dietary and Pharmacological Control of Human and Experimental Hypercholesterolemia.- Dietary Fatty Acids and Vascular Eicosanoids.- Effects of Saturated and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Plasma Lipids, Platelets and the Vascular System.- Thrombosis.- Dietary Fatty Acids and Thrombosis.- Unexpected Effects of Dietary Palm Oil on Arterial Thrombosis (Rat) and Atherosclerosis (Rabbit) Comparison with Other Vegetable Oils and Fish Oil.- Dietary Fatty Acids and Platelet Composition and Function in Human Studies.- Comparative Evaluation of Olive Oil and of Corn Oil in the Prevention of Atherosclerosis.- Selected Fatty Acids.- Minor Fatty Acids of the N-6 Sereis and Platelets.- Fats from Marine Animals in Human Nutrition.- n-3 Fatty Acids and the Eicosanoid System.- Effect of Eicosapentanoic Acid on Leukotriene B Formation by Human Neutrophils and the Relevance to Inflammation.- Minor Components.- A Biological Antioxidant Function for Vitamin E: Electron Shuttling for a Membrane-Bound "Free Radical Reductase".- Biological Effects of Trans Fatty Acids.- Technology.- Agriculture-Industry Relationship.- The Impact of Conventional Technologies on the Chemical Composition of Fats.- Hydrogenation of Edible Oils.- Margarine Production in the U.S.A. and Its Nutritional Contribution to Man's Diet.- Non-Conventional Hydrogenation of Fat.- Fats of Tropical Origin.- The Impact of Non-Conventional Technologies on the Chemical Composition of Fats.- Recent Developments in the Technologies of Plant Breeding for Oilseed Improvement.- Production of Fats of Particular Biological Significance.- Auto-oxidation Process.- By-Products Formed in Heated Fats.- Residues and Contaminants in Edible Fats and Oils.- Complex Natural Phospholipid Blends.- Recommedations from the Advanced NATO Workshop.- Contributors.