Saturated fat

What Is Saturated Fat?

A saturated fatty acid has no double bonds in its carbon chain, so the chain is straight and the molecules pack tightly. That is why fats rich in them, such as butter, lard and coconut oil, are solid at room temperature. It is one of several types of fat; every food fat contains some.

The common ones are palmitic acid, found in meat, dairy and palm oil; stearic acid, in meat and cocoa butter; and myristic and lauric acid, in dairy fat, coconut and palm kernel oil.

What Saturated Fat Does in the Body

The body uses saturated fatty acids for energy and as part of cell membranes, but it can make all it needs from carbohydrate and other fats. That is why there is no dietary requirement, and why EFSA advises intake as low as possible within a diet that is otherwise nutritious.

In large amounts it lowers how many LDL receptors the liver makes, so less LDL cholesterol is cleared from the blood. Higher LDL leads to more plaque in artery walls. Trials in which people replaced saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat found lower LDL and, pooled together, fewer cardiovascular events.

Plant Foods High in Saturated Fat

Fresh coconut flesh has 29.7 g of saturated fat per 100 g, more than cheddar at 19.2 g. Coconut oil is mostly saturated and palm oil about half, and both are common in biscuits, pastries, snacks and dairy-free products. Olive oil, often treated as free of it, still has 15.5 g per 100 g.

How Much Saturated Fat a Day of Ordinary Meals Gives

An ordinary day from our library, in usual portions, with no fried food and no red meat.

That is 130% of the 20 g label reference. No single food is the problem: a croissant, a slice of cheese, a glass of whole milk and half a cup of ice cream each give 4 to 7 g, and together they pass it.

What to Eat Instead of Saturated Fat

What replaces it matters as much as cutting it. The WHO advises swapping saturated fat for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats from plants, or for carbohydrate from foods with natural fiber. In practice: oil instead of butter for cooking, nuts instead of pastries, fish or beans in place of some fatty meat.

Fish is a double swap: it is low in saturated fat and brings the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA.

Supplements That Add Saturated Fat

MCT oil and coconut oil, sold as supplements or added to coffee, are saturated fat and count toward the limit. A tablespoon of either is mostly saturated fat, a large share of 20 g. Fish oil capsules contain a little saturated fat as well, too little to matter at a few capsules a day.

Common Saturated Fat Mistakes

Swapping butter for sugar. Low-fat products where the fat is replaced by refined starch or sugar miss the point of the swap.

Counting cheese only as protein. A 28 g slice of cheddar has about 6.5 g of protein and 5.4 g of saturated fat.

Missing it in snacks. Microwave popcorn, biscuits and croissants carry it in the fat used to make them, which is easy to forget because they do not look fatty.