Fat Substitutes

Most people perceive fats as unhealthy, and that's why more and more have adopted the habit of avoiding foods that are rich in fat. However, just like other nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and ions, fats are also essential for the human body. In fact fats play a very important role in the functioning of human body. Fats are the essential bodily fuel that provides us the energy needed for activities like walking, running, swimming, and other active exercise. Without fats, the human body cannot function properly, so there’s really no justification to avoiding all foods that are rich in fats. However excess consumption of fats may lead to adverse effects – therefore many people now prefer eating fat substitutes.

Different types and standards of popular fat substitutes are available in markets all over the world. Fat substitutes include food products that taste like they’re rich in fat, but actually contain only low percentages of fat. However, there are some fat substitutes that contain as many calories as the real thing. Therefore, even if you have been instructed by your doctor to not consume food products rich in fat, you can consume these fat substitutes. Most of foods containing fat substitutes are low in calories and are not harmful from a health perspective, to you can consume them in normal quantities.

Fat substitutes are typically ingested as health drinks for the purposes of quickly gaining extra energy. Names and details of some of the most popular fat substitutes include:

• Simplesse - Simplesse is actually a whey protein made from milk plasmas. It is a very effective, low-calorie food. Simplesse is a product of CP Kelco, includes microparticulated whey protein concentrate, and is available in the form of milk powder.
• Olestra - Manufactured by Procter & Gamble since 1968, Olestra (also known as Olean) is a fat substitute that does not contain any fat, cholesterol products or calories.
• Caprenin - Caprenin is another product of Procter & Gamble and is also a very useful fat substitute. Caprenin is ideal for lowering the number of effective calories consumed with food, and is made up of glycerol and fatty acids like Capric, Caprylic Acids and Behenic.
• Z-Trim - Developed by the US Department of Agriculture, Z-Trim is a very useful fat substitute helpful for those with constipation, and it is made of natural dietary fibers.