FATS.

did you knoww, that not ALL fats are bad for you?? certain kinds of fats are actually good for you :)

Fats, or lipids, are nutrients in food that your body uses to build nerve tissue (like the brain) and hormones. Your body also uses fat as fuel. If fats that you've eaten aren't burned as energy or used as building blocks, they're stored by the body in fat cells. This is your body's way of thinking ahead: By saving fat for future use, your body plans for times when food might be scarce. Fat gives food flavor and texture, but it's also high in calories, and excess amounts of fatty foods (as with excess amounts of any food) can cause many health risks.

okay, now looking on the POSITIVE side of fats:

- they are essential to growth and development

-can't always be manufactured by the body, so they have to be eaten
fuel the body
-aid in the absorption of some vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, and K are known as fat soluble, meaning they can only be absorbed if there's fat in a person's diet.)
-are the building blocks of hormones
-are necessary for insulating all nervous system tissues in the body
-help people feel full, so they're less likely to eat as much
-can protect against heart disease

Fat has more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates . therefore, fats are a great source of energy but also adds twice the amount of calories to a meal.

WHAT KIND OF FATS ARE THERE??

Unsaturated fats: Found in plant foods and fish, these fats are seen as neutral or even beneficial to heart health. The best of the unsaturated fats are:
-monounsaturated, found in avocados and olive, peanut, and canola oils
-polyunsaturated, found in most vegetable oils
-omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as albacore tuna and salmon

Saturated fats: Found in meat and other animal products, such as butter, shortening, lard, cheese, and milk (except skim or nonfat), saturated fats are also in palm and coconut oils, which are often used in commercial baked goods. Eating too much saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.

Trans fats: Found in margarine (especially the sticks), commercial snack foods and baked goods, and some commercially fried foods, trans fats (also called trans fatty acids) are created when vegetable oils are hydrogenated (meaning that hydrogen atoms are added to the fat molecule so they remain solid at room temperature). Like saturated fats, eating too much trans fat can raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease. By 2006, food manufacturers must list trans fats on food labels. For now, keep an eye out for "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils on the ingredient list.

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/fat.html