Dietary Fat Substitutes

Abstract

Fat substitues are becoming an important part of the American diet. Many Americans are looking for ways to enjoy their favorite foods while maintaining a low-calorie diet. Food scientists are developing new food additives that will mimic the function of fats in foods while keeping the calorie contents of foods low. Dietary fat substitutes are food constituents able to replace, completely or partially, dietary fat in such a manner that certain physical and organoleptic properties of the food product involved are left unaltered as far as possible. There are two principal approaches to the replacement of dietary fat. The farst involves hydratable carbohydrates and proteins with the mouthfeel of fats. The second includes nonabsorbable synthetic substances with the physical properties and technical function of fat within foods. Keywords: fat substitutes; calories; lipids; dietary fat; structured lipids; fat mimetics; hydratable carbohydrates; esters; esthers