Saturated fat

From Wikinfo

A saturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there are no double bonds between the carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain (hence, it is fully saturated with hydrogen atoms). Saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature. Diets high in saturated fat correlate in some studies with an increased incidence of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Dehydrogenation converts saturated fats to unsaturated fats, while hydrogenation accomplishes the reverse.

Common saturated fats include butter, ghee, suet, tallow, lard, coconut oil, cottonseed oil and palm oil. Saturated fat is found in dairy products, especially cream and cheese and in meat as well as in many prepared foods. Meat generally has a higher proportion of saturated fat than dairy produce. Using Soya milk in place of dairy milk can reduce saturated fat intake.

Many studies suggest replacing saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats will increase one's ratio of HDL to LDL serum cholesterol.

Alternatives to saturated fats include monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and polyunsaturated fats such as canola oil and corn oil.

Controversy

It has been alleged that the many studies of saturated fat in the diet did not distinguish between saturated fat and trans fat. Some claim that saturated fat (in the absence of trans fat) is healthful; for example, foods such as peanuts and pure peanut butter (peanut butter having no added partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) contain saturated fat but no trans fat. Such foods may be beneficial or may be a health hazard; no research specific to this question has as yet been done.

Also, it has been pointed out that meat and dairy foods contain some naturally-occurring trans fatty acids. Does this imply that they cause heart disease? We do not yet know.

Some researchers [1] claim that there are "good" trans fatty acids, such as conjugated linolenic acid.