Saturated fat is found primarily in animal products such as butter, yellow cheese and eggs. Their essential plant sources are coconut oil and palm oil. Saturated fat is mainly used as an energy store for the body, but it also has numerous other functions. The latest research shows that saturated fatty acids do not contribute to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, as is commonly believed.

Fatty acids are molecules with the form of a chain of various lengths depending on the number of carbon atoms. There are short, medium and long chain fatty acids with slightly different properties. Saturated fatty acids are those in which all carbon atoms are linked together by a single bond (as opposed to unsaturated KT, where there are double bonds between the carbon atoms). The type of these bonds significantly affects the properties of fats. Saturated fats are mostly animal fats, and coconut oil is the most important of plant sources. Most saturated fats are solid and white in color at room temperature. Like all fats, they are not water-soluble. Saturated fats are very suitable for frying because they have a high smoke point (the temperature at which the fat begins to burn) - they are resistant to high temperatures and under their influence do not undergo major chemical changes that are detrimental to he alth.

Saturated fat: official recommendations for consumption

Global nutrition organizations, as well as the Polish Food and Nutrition Institute, recommend a significant reduction in saturated fatty acids supplied with the diet, sometimes using the phrase that their consumption should be "as low as possible". The American Heart Association recommends that saturated fat should cover a maximum of 5-6 percent of your daily energy requirement, which is 120 kcal on a standard 2,000 kcal diet, or about 13 grams of saturated fat per day.

According to the official position, the consumption of saturated fat increases the level ofcholesterolin the blood and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, e.g.atherosclerosisiheart attack .

Saturated fat:food sources

Food products usually contain a mixture of saturated andunsaturated fatty acidsin different proportions. Foods that are a source of saturated fat include:

  • butter ,

  • clarified butter ,

  • lard,

  • tallow,

  • coconut oil ,

  • palm oil ,

  • milk,

  • yellow cheeses,

  • curd cheeses,

  • cream,

  • eggs,

  • meat: beef, pork, lamb, poultry with skin,

  • offal,

  • fish,

  • ready-made confectionery prepared with fat,

  • fried ready-made food.

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Saturated fat: functions in the body

Saturated fat is primarily considered a concentrated source of energy (1 g of fat contains 9 kcal). However, they perform various other functions in the body:

  • are carriers of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K in food and participate in their transport in the body;

  • subcutaneous fat is the body's thermal protection;

  • they line the abdominal cavity and protect the internal organs from damage;

  • butyric acid regulates the expression of several genes and may be important in preventing the development of cancer cells;

  • palmitic acid is involved in the regulation of hormone secretion;

  • palmitic and myristic acids are involved in the transmission of signals between cells and in immune responses;

  • myristic acid can regulate the bioavailability of polyunsaturated fatty acids;

  • Lauric acid can be used as a raw material for the production ofomega-3 fatty acidswhen these are not present in the diet.

Saturated fat: do you really need to avoid them?

Currently, based on a growing number of meta-analyzes and the publication of new resultsResearch departs from the conclusion that the consumption of saturated fat had a significant impact on increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The hypothesis about the influence of saturated fatty acids on high cholesterol and heart disease was put forward over 50 years ago and is today firmly established in the nutritional community and in human consciousness. However, with the current knowledge and methodology of nutritional research, many objections can be made to the then experiments on the basis of which the lipid hypothesis was developed. It was probably also forced through for political reasons. More and more well-established scientists are inclined to the position that the lipid hypothesis was made on the basis of incorrect conclusions and poorly conducted research. So far, however, there is no response to the new research in the official recommendations of nutrition organizations. Such behavior by global organizations seems surprising, especially since early research on the effects of a diet low in saturated fat conducted in the 1960s showed that it did not have a beneficial effect on reducing the risk of heart disease and death from a heart attack, despite the fact that it improved lipid profile, decrease in cholesterol and body weight, i.e. indicators that are considered risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Moreover, reports of incorrectly formulated lipid hypothesis have been appearing in scientific publications since the 1990s with an ever increasing frequency.

Nutritional science is developing very dynamically and you need to be prepared for changes in your dietary recommendations. Drawing new conclusions from research, often completely contrary to well-established theories, is a consequence of the evolving state of knowledge and technological progress, which allows for more in-depth and accurate analyzes. According to the current state of knowledge, there is no reason to over-avoid eating saturated fats such as cheese, eggs and meat. As with any other aspect of life, it's best to be moderate and eat saturated fats alongside unsaturated ones.

The He alth Effects of Saturated Fat - Latest Research

  1. Saturated fatty acids do not increase the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke

Based on a meta-analysis (secondary analysis of results from independent studies) performed by Dr. Ronald Krauss's team of 21 epidemiological studies involving a total of 347,747 cases, it was conclusively found that consumption of saturated fatty acids does not increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, but replacement with unsaturated fats indiet is not expected to reduce the risk of heart disease and mortality from cardiovascular events. Such conclusions can be drawn from the growing number of published studies.

  1. Saturated fatty acids can lower the risk of stroke

After myocardial infarction, stroke is the second most common cause of death in developed and developing countries. According to some studies, consumption of saturated fat may translate into a lower risk of stroke. The results do not always turn out to be statistically significant, but such a conclusion was drawn, inter alia, based on a large experiment in Japan involving nearly 60,000 men and women who were followed for 14 years.

  1. Saturated fatty acids raise the level of "good" HDL cholesterol

Increased total cholesterol levels with the consumption of saturated fatty acids are also accompanied by an increase in "good" HDL cholesterol, which is believed to be beneficial for the cardiovascular system. This effect is mainly demonstrated by lauric acid, as confirmed in the meta-analysis published in 2003 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .The fact that the increase in total cholesterol from saturated fatty acid consumption is related to especially with the rise in HDL in the blood, it is often overlooked and ignored, especially in campaigns against animal saturated fat.

  1. Saturated fat increases the size of the LDL lipoprotein

Low-density lipoprotein LDL called "bad" cholesterol has been linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease. It turns out, however, that there are subtypes of LDL:

  • small LDLs that readily penetrate arterial walls and may increase the risk of heart disease

  • large LDLs that are not very compact and not associated with the risk of heart disease.

Saturated fatty acids increase the size of LDL particles, so it can be concluded that they do not contribute to the formation of harmful particles.

Sources:

1. Krauss R.M. et al., Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, doi: 10.3945 / ajcn.2009.27725

2. Mensink R.P. et al., Effects of dietary fatty acids and carbohydrates on the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and on serum lipids and apolipoproteins: a meta-analysis of 60 controlled trials, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003, 77 (5), 1146-1155

3. YamagishiK. et al., Dietary intake of saturated fatty acids and mortality from cardiovascular disease in Japanese: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk Study ?, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, doi: 10.3945 / ajcn.2009.29146

4. Gunnars K., Top 8 reasons not to fear saturated fats, https://authoritynutrition.com/top-8-reasons-not-to-fear-saturated-fats/

5. Rolik M., Saturated fat and heart disease: early research on the hypothesis, http://nowadebata.pl/2011/02/21/tluszcze-nasycone-a-choroby-serca-wczesne-badania-nad-hipoteza/

6. http://www.eufic.org/article/pl/artid/Blizsze-spojrzenie-tluszcze-nasycone/

7. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/He althyLiving/He althyEating/Nutrition/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp

Good and bad fats

We associate fat negatively, so we prefer to choose products that contain as little it as possible. However, not all fat is our enemy. So how to distinguish between good and bad fats?

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