What are saturated fats ?
Saturated fats tend to be animal fats. Fats that are hard will tend to contain the most saturates. Meat and dairy products are the main sources of saturated fat. Biscuits, cakes, butter, cheese, cooking fats, pastries and chips are all high in saturated fat. Cocoa solids (used to make chocolate) also contain a significant amount of saturated fat. Eating too much of this type of fat can lead to high blood cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease and circulation problems You should aim to reduce your intake of saturated fats.
Saturated fatty acids result when all carbons in the chemical chain are “saturated” with hydrogen. This means that the fat molecule does not contain any double bonds. Saturated fats are dense, solid fats that do not melt at room temperature – for example the white fat in beef and lamb. These are the so-called “bad” fats that are known to contribute to cardiovascular disease when consumed in excess.
“Saturated” means “saturated of hydrogen atoms”. Each carbon atom in this kind of fat molecule is linked to two hydrogen atoms. There’s no double-bonds between carbon atoms as in unsaturated fats, and there is no room for new hydrogen atoms. This characteristic makes saturated fat solid at room temperature. It’s a very stable molecule, so your body can do almost nothing with it except produce energy.
The scientific definition of saturated fat is having every carbon bound to as many hydrogens as possible, thus the molecule is absent of double bonds. Saturated fat and saturated fatty acids may be used interchangeably. Often saturated fat is used when generalizing common characteristics of saturated fatty acids. The length of the carbon chain differentiates saturated fatty acids. The saturated fatty acids commonly found in a typical American diet are lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. As a rule of thumb, the greater the saturated fat in a food item, the more solid it will be at room temperature. The reverse is also true, the greater the unsaturated fat in a food item, the more liquid it will be at room temperature.
