What Is Healthy Fat? Could Goose Fat Be the Healthiest Animal Fat?

Fats, medically called lipids, are indispensable components of our diet and cells. From salad dressings to pastries, few dishes do not use fat. But is every fat we consume healthy? What determines whether the fat we eat is healthy?

What Is Healthy Fat?

Fats are used in the body both as an energy source and as building blocks of cells. One function is facilitating absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat consumption is necessary for normal growth and a balanced diet. Experts recommend that of every 3 parts of our diet, 1 should be fat. Average fat consumption should be 76 gr/day for women and 100 gr/day for men.

The fatty acids making up fats occur in varying proportions in foods. There are 3 main types: saturated and unsaturated (the latter divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated according to degree of saturation).

In saturated fat, single bonds connect the carbon and hydrogen atoms forming the fat chain. Saturated fats are animal fats solid at room temperature, such as butter, goose fat, and lard. Meat and dairy products are rich in saturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fats have double bonds between carbon and hydrogen atoms and are liquid at room temperature, such as olive oil and sunflower oil.

Saturated fatty acids raise blood cholesterol and promote atheromatous plaque formation (commonly described as arterial calcification). These plaques cause many diseases, including heart disease and stroke.

When assessing fat consumption from a healthy eating perspective, criteria include digestibility, proportions of its components and resistance to deterioration reactions. For example, vegetable oils are easier to digest, while fats such as margarine have lower digestion rates.

What Is Goose Fat?

The history of goose fat goes back to around 2500 BC, when Egyptian and Mediterranean civilizations fattened geese for feathers, meat and fat. Geese and goose products later appear in the ancient Greek epic Odesa and Roman Empire records. After the fall of the Roman Empire around AD 476, geese became integral to the economy of European peasants. They appear in European fairy tales in the 19th century. By the 1930-40s, goose fat began to be used medicinally in Europe. Goose fat spread on brown paper was applied to the chest to treat colds. It was also used in attempts to treat sore throats. In Europe today, particularly France, goose fat flavors traditional dishes.

Although not widely used in our country, goose fat is used mainly to flavor dishes in Thrace, Kars, Erzurum and Ağrı and is also described as heart-friendly. In 100 grams, goose fat contains 32.7 gr of saturated fat, compared with 54 grams in butter (thus, it is an animal fat with relatively lower saturated fat content). Goose fat is also richer than other animal fats in polyunsaturated fatty acids and heart-friendly monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid. Oleic acid increases good cholesterol , which protects against cardiovascular blockage, namely HDL cholesterol levels in the blood.

In recent years, scientific evidence has been presented that changes in fat metabolismplay a role in cancer metastasis. Therefore, the view has begun to prevail that we should reduce saturated/animal fats in our diet or choose the healthiest animal fats.

In conclusion, animal fats are among foods whose dietary share should be reduced because of their high cholesterol and saturated fat content. However, goose fat contains fewer saturated fatty acids. If an animal fat is preferred, goose fat may be chosen because of the advantages listed above.