What Are Saturated Fats ?
What are saturated fats ? is a common question in the health and fitness industry. In this article we will provide some examples of saturated fats and unsaturated fats. We will also consider saturated fats in food. There are three types of fats found in nature: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These three terms refer to the ‘saturation’ of the carbon chain with hydrogen atoms. Saturated means there are only single bonds between carbon atoms and therefore a maximum number of hydrogen atoms may be attached to the carbon chain. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature (coconut oil and palm oil are the exceptions). Unsaturated means there is a double bond between two carbon atoms, which limits the number of hydrogen atoms bonding on the carbon chain and therefore the carbon chain isn’t ‘saturated’ with hydrogen atoms (unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature). Monounsaturated means there is only one double bond and ‘polyunsaturated’ means there is more than one double bond. What Are Saturated Fats?Since saturated fats have all their carbon atoms saturated with hydrogen atoms they have very few functions in the body. They are mainly used for energy. Accordingly, they are mainly stored as body fat. Saturated fats are strongly correlated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (heart attack) because they are associated with a high level of blood cholesterol, especially the bad cholesterol (LDLs).Not all saturated fats raise blood cholesterol though. Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), its name refers to the length of the chain of carbon atoms, don’t affect cholesterol levels and are actually metabolised in the body like carbohydrates, not fats. Unfortunately, they don’t have any special fat-loss qualities. Examples of saturated fats in food (with cholesterol) are: red meat, full cream milk, butter, cheese, cream, sausages and a number of processed foods.
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