Saturated Fat

Of all the dietary fats, saturated fat is always considered the worst. But saturated fat is important for energy and hormone production, cellular functioning, and other healthy actions much like other fats.

Similar to other fat, saturated forms are made up of many different fatty acids, some of which have been linked to ill health when in excess. The worst may be palmitic acid, high in dairy fat. This fatty acid can raise cholesterol, and some of the dietary carbohydrate that converts to fat becomes palmitic acid. High blood levels of palmitic acid may be associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and carbohydrate intolerance. However, when fats are balanced, palmitic acid does not seem to be such a health problem.

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Arachidonic acid (AA) is another component of saturated fat that gives it a bad name. While small amounts are essential for health (it’s considered an essential fat), high AA levels are very unhealthy. AA is found in dairy, egg yolks, meats, and shellfish. However, the amounts in these foods are relatively small compared to the amount of AA produced by the conversion of omega-6 fats from vegetable oils in the average diet. Like many other situations regarding fat, balance is the key. In the case of AA, it’s an essential fat, especially for the brain, the fetus, newborns, growing children, and athletes. But in larger amounts it can cause problems. Too much AA, either from saturated fat or vegetable oil, can contribute to chronic inflammation, bone loss, and increased pain.

The good side of saturated fat is important too. Stearic acid, for example, has various health benefits on the immune system. This saturated fatty acid is found in cocoa butter and grass-fed beef. And stearic acid can be converted to monounsaturated fat. Another healthy saturated fatty acid is lauric (called a medium chain fatty acid or MTC), which plays an important role in energy production and has antiviral and antibacterial actions, especially in the intestine (and the stomach in particular, against H. pylori). Coconut oil, high in saturated fat, is also high in healthy lauric acid (and contains very little polyunsaturated fat, making it an ideal fat for cooking).

In animal foods, which contain relatively high amounts of saturated fat, the most important factor that determines the fatty acid profile is the food consumed by the animal. Grass-fed beef, for example, contains a much healthier content of fatty acids compared to corn-fed beef. For the same reason, wild animals usually contain healthier fattyacid profiles than animals that are fed grain in confinement. In plants, the soil plays a certain role in determining fatty acid content.

Before discussing a key feature in balancing dietary fats, it’s worth looking at the fat content of various foods to demonstrate the mixture of mono, poly, and saturated fat in each. A few foods contain predominantly one type of fat or another, but most foods, even oils, contain a combination of all three. Many people are surprised to learn, for instance, that the fat in an average beefsteak is about half monounsaturated and half saturated, with a small amount of polyunsaturated.

The table below shows approximately how much of each type of fat is contained in some foods.