Fat almost invariably gets a bad press. People rightly see vitamins as vital and some proteins as 'quality proteins', but the modern perception that fat just makes you fat is wrong.
This is the message from John Sargent, director of the Natural Environment Research Council's unit of aquatic biochemistry at the University of Stirling. In a controversial talk, he said better understanding of the value of fats and fatty acids will lead to an improved diet.
Sargent's principal interest is in fish, which contain polyunsaturated fatty acids of the 'omega-3' class. These include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosa-hexaenoic acid (DHA). A rich source of both substances is the time-honoured panacea, cod liver oil.
EPA is known to lower cholesterol levels in blood and is used to treat heart disease. DHA is essential in the eye and the brain and for the development of the nervous system. Premature babies fed formula ...
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