Saturated fat: what it is, types, foods and why it is bad

Saturated fat is a type of fat that is solid at room temperature and is found mainly in foods of animal origin, such as beef, eggs, butter, chicken, milk and yogurt.

Furthermore, saturated fat is also present in good quantities in foods of plant origin, such as coconut oil, olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, palm oil and palm oil.

Although saturated fat is important for providing energy and producing hormones, excessive intake of this type of fat can increase blood levels of “bad” cholesterol, LDL, favoring the emergence of diseases such as stroke and atherosclerosis.

Types of saturated fat

The main types of saturated fat are:

• myristic acid, found mainly in milk, coconut and coconut oil;
• Palmitic acid, present in good quantities in meat and palm oil;
• lauric acid, found in coconuts and coconut oil;
• Stearic acid, present in excellent quantities in cocoa.

There are also capric acid, caprylic acid and caproic acid, which are found in foods of plant and animal origin and are known to promote several health benefits.

Is saturated fat bad?

Moderate consumption of saturated fat is important, as it provides energy for the body, acts in the formation of hormones and promotes an increase in HDL levels in the blood.

However, excessive intake of saturated fat can cause inflammation, increasing LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and favoring the emergence of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. This normally happens when high amounts of foods rich in myristic and palmitic acid are consumed.

These harms of saturated fat arise mainly when this type of fat is consumed through processed foods, such as fast food, sausage, stuffed cookies and ice cream, for example, which also contain other ingredients that are harmful to health, such as trans fat, refined sugar and preservatives.

On the other hand, studies ^{(1) (2) (3)} More recent studies have shown that, although some healthy foods are rich in saturated fat, such as olive oil, peanuts and coconut, they are beneficial to your health. This is because the fibers, vitamins, omega 3 and antioxidants present in these foods inhibit the harm caused by saturated fat in the body.

Recommended quantity

The World Health Organization recommends eating up to 10% of your total dietary calorie intake from saturated fat per day. Thus, on a 2,000-calorie diet, it is recommended to ingest up to 22.2 g of saturated fat per day, for example.

List of foods rich in saturated fat

The following table contains the amount of saturated fat present in every 100 g of some foods:

Other foods that also contain saturated fat include avocado, canola oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil and corn oil.

Difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat

Saturated fat is solid at room temperature and, when consumed in excess, can increase LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and lead to diseases such as heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.

Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature and is present in foods such as sardines, salmon, avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds. This type of fat has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, reducing LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and thus preventing diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.

See the following video on how to eat a diet to lower blood cholesterol: