Introduction

Traditionally, dietary fat has been associated with negative effects on human health by consumers due to its high energy density. However, today it is well known that the quality of the fat ingested is more important than its quantity, and that there are natural lipophilic compounds that are essential for the correct maintenance of human physiological functions. For this reason, the negative image associated with dietary fat consumption is not fully justified.

Research and Applications

Dietary fat is a hot research area that has attracted increasing attention in the last decades. An adequate intake of dietary fats adapted to our age and physical activity, as well as an increase in the intake of beneficial fatty compounds and controlling the intake of those types of fats that have negative effects on our health, can be powerful allies in preventing the development of chronic non-communicable diseases.

Through this book, the Editors have compiled the most up to date and well-documented information on many aspects of the development and application of novel dietary patterns related to fatty compounds, with special emphasis on beneficial effects. They have considered fatty nutritional requirements at different stages of life, the international guidelines and the application of new -omics techniques, such as epigenetics, nutrigenomics, metabolomics and metagenomics, related to human health. This book will be of interest to researchers in food technology and biomedicine, as well as the food industry and food distribution areas.