Because margarine products are very low in saturated fat and contain no dietary cholesterol, they are the tablespread of choice for a majority of Americans. Most of these products are reduced in total fat, too. The plain truth is that Americans need to lower overall fat intake, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise to promote good health. Diet is only one of the many risk factors for a variety of diseases, including heart disease. Leading health professional groups continue to advise the public to continue to follow a diet that is low in saturated fat and contains less than 30 percent of calories from total fat.
Fats are a group of chemical compounds that contain fatty acids.
Energy is stored in the body mostly in the form of fat. Fat is also needed in the diet to supply essential fatty acids, substances essential for growth but not produced by the body itself. The terms fat and fatty acids are frequently used interchangeably. All fatty acids are chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon atoms. A saturated fatty acid has the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms attached to every carbon atom.