What are saturated fats ?
Saturated fat is a type of fat found in animal products, usually solid at room temperature. Tends to raise blood cholesterol levels. 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.
The familiar saturated fat is embedded in most of our favorite foods such us • whole milk, butter, cheese and ice cream • red meat • chocolate • coconuts, coconut milk and coconut oil. We are aware that these foods are unhealthy but yet cannot bear to stay away from. These fats raises both LDL (bad) and HDL (good).
These are triglycerides which contain only saturated fatty acids. They do not have any double bonds between carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain – in other words, they are completely saturated with hydrogen atoms. If your saturated fat intake is high you run an elevated risk of developing coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. If you can lower your intake of saturated fats, while at the same time raising your consumption of unsaturated fats, your ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol will improve.
top The scientific definition of saturated fat is having every carbon bound to as many hydrogen’s 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 Australian 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.
