SaturatedFatsvs.

UnsaturatedFats

Diffen Food Diet&Nutrition

Thehumanbodyneedsbothsaturatedfatsandunsaturatedfatsto
remainhealthy.Mostdietaryrecommendationssuggestthat,ofthe
dailyintakeoffat,ahigherproportionshouldbefromunsaturatedfats,
astheyarethoughttopromotegoodcholesterolandhelpprevent
cardiovasculardisease,whereasanoverabundanceofsaturatedfats
isthoughttopromotebadcholesterol.However,afewstudieshave
foundthatlittleevidenceforastronglinkbetweentheconsumptionof
saturatedfatandcardiovasculardisease.
Note:Itistechnicallymoreaccuratetocallsaturatedandunsaturated
fatstypesoffattyacids,asitisspecificallythefattyacidfoundinafat

CompareAnything HDL
thatiseithersaturatedorunsaturated.However,referringtofattyacids
asfatsiscommon.

Comparisonchart
SaturatedFats
Typeofbonds ConsistofSINGLEbond

Recommended Notmorethan10%oftotal
consumption caloriesperday
HealthEffects Excessiveconsumptionisnot
goodbecauseoftheir
associationwith
atherosclerosisandheart
diseases.

UnsaturatedFats
Consistofatleast1DOUBLE
bond
Notmorethan30%oftotal
caloriesperday
Unsaturatedfatsare
consideredgoodtoeatifyou
arewatchingyourcholesterol.
Alsohighinantioxidants.

vs.

LDL

GO

Cholesterol SaturatedfatsincreaseLow
DensityLipoproteins(LDLor
badcholesterol)&VeryLow
DensityLipoproteins
(VLDL's).Sourcesofbad
cholesterolarefoodsrichin
transfattyacids,refined
carbohydrates,suchaswhite
sugar,andflour.

Unsaturatedfatsincrease
HighDensityLipoprotein
(HDLorgoodcholesterol)
anddecreaseLowDensity
Lipoproteins(LDLorbad
cholesterol).SourcesofHDL
includeonionsandOmega3
fattyacidslikeflaxoil,fish,
foodsrichinfiberlikegrains.

Commonly Butter,coconutoil,whole
foundin milk,meat,peanut,butter,
margarine,cheese,vegetable
oil,friedfoods,&frozen
dinners

Avocado,soybeanoil,canola
oilandoliveoil,sunfloweroil,
fishoilswalnuts,flax,&red
meats

ShelfLife Thesearelonglastinganddo
notspoilquickly
MeltingPoint High

Thesespoilquickly

Low

Physicalstate Solid(TransFats&Saturated
atroom Fats)
temperature

Liquid(Monounsaturated&
PolyunsaturatedFats
Omega3's&9's)

Rancidity Low

High

Examples HydrogenatedOils,Butter,
ProcessedMeats

OliveOil,linoleicacid,alpha
linolenicacid

Contents:SaturatedFatsvsUnsaturatedFats
1TypesofSaturatedandUnsaturatedFats

3SourcesofSaturatedandUnsaturatedFats
3.1RecommendedDailyIntake

1.1TransFat
2HealthEffectsofSaturatedandUnsaturatedFats

4Chemistry

2.1RelationshipBetweenSaturatedFats,Diseases,

5TheTakeaway

andCancers

6References

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HDL

TypesofSaturatedandUnsaturatedFats
Whileitiswellknownthattherearesaturatedandunsaturatedfats,fewer
peopleareawarethatunsaturatedfatsarefurtherclassifiedintotwoother
groups:monounsaturatedfats(sometimesseenasanacronymMUFA)
andpolyunsaturatedfats(PUFA).Polyunsaturatedfatsarewhereomega
fattyacids,suchasomega3sandomega6s,arefound.
Therearemanydifferentkindsofsaturatedandunsaturatedfattyacids,and
scienceisstilltryingtounderstandhowtheyallfunctioninthebody.Foralist
ofsaturatedfattyacids,seehere.Forunsaturatedfattyacids,seethislist.

vs.

LDL

GO

TransFat
Thereisathirdtypeoffatknownasatransfat.Transfatsareactuallyakind
ofunsaturatedfat,buttheystandoutfromothertypesoffatbecausethey
veryrarelyoccurinfoodsnaturally.
Atransfatiscreatedwhenanotherwisenaturallyunsaturatedfatoften
vegetableoilishydrogenated(i.e.,hydrogenatomsareaddedtothefood).
Hydrogenationextendstheshelflifeoffoods,butitalsosolidifiesfatsthat
wouldotherwisebeliquids.Manufacturerscreatedthisprocesspartly
becausesaturatedfats,whichhadbeenusedpreviously,hadgrownvery
unpopularhowever,therewasstillaneedtocreatefoodsthatwouldlast.
Unfortunately,thesesolidtransfatshavethesameeffectsthatsaturatedfats
have:theyclogthearteries.Numerousstudiesfoundtransfatswereeven
worseforhearthealththansaturatedfats.

CompareAnything HDL
Foodindustriesaroundtheworldhavebeenphasingouttransfatssincethe
mid2000s,oftenduetopublicdemandorgovernmentregulation,buteven
foodproductsthatclaimtohave"0goftransfat"mayusuallycontainupto
0.5glegally.Inlate2013,theFDAstatedthattransfatsarenotgenerally
consideredsafe.Manyseethisasthestartofaneventualalloutbanoftrans
fatsfromfoods.Theyarebeingreplacedwithinteresterifiedsaturatedfats
andsometimeswithtraditionalsaturatedfats,suchaslardorpalmoil.
SeealsoCisFatvsTransFat.

HealthEffectsofSaturatedandUnsaturated
Fats
Fatcannotandshouldnotberemovedfromadiet.Healthydietsinclude
saturatedandunsaturatedfats.Evenso,thesefatsareprocesseddifferently
inthebody.
Saturatedfatsaremoresolidandhaveachemicalstructurethatismore
tightlypacked.Toomanysaturatedfats,toooften,mayincreasebad
cholesterol(LDL),clogarteries,andincreasetheriskofcardiovascular
diseaseandevents,suchasheartattacksandstrokes.

vs.

LDL

GO

Ingeneral,monounsaturatedandpolyunsaturatedfatsarebelievedto
promotegoodcholesterol(HDL)byhelpingmovebadcholesteroltotheliver,
whereitcanbemetabolized.(Thisiswhynewsmediaandsomedoctorstalk
aboutfatsasbeingeither"good"orhealthyfatsor"bad"orunhealthyfats.)
Peopleareoftenencouragedtoeatpolyunsaturatedfats,inparticular,as
somestudieshavefoundomega3sandomega6stobebeneficial.
Heart Health Month Healthy Fats 11am Interview 2-4-14

RelationshipBetweenSaturatedFats,Diseases,and
Cancers
Understandinghowcarbohydrates,saturatedfats,andunsaturatedfats
operateinthebodyisatopicofongoingscientificresearch.Whilenumerous
studiessincethe1960shavefoundlinksbetweensaturatedfats,diseases,
andcancers,severalotherlargestudiesinrecentyearshavefoundno
significantcorrelation.Itispossiblethatsaturatedandunsaturatedfattyacids
aremuchmorecomplexandnuancedthanpreviouslythought.
Currently,mostallhealthassociations(e.g.,AmericanDieteticAssociation
andAmericanHeartAssociation),governmentalinstitutions(e.g.,British
NationalHealthService),andtheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)
recommendlimitingtheconsumptionofsaturatedfatstohelpmaintain
cardiovascularhealth.

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HDL

vs.

LDL

GO

Asmallcollectionofnotablestudiesfromrecentyearsregardingthe
relationshipbetweensaturatedfatsandcardiovasculardisease.Seeherefor
morestudies.

Inawidelyreported2014metaanalysisof72studies,researcherssaidthere
waslittleevidencetosupporttheideathatsaturatedfatscanbeclearlylinked
tocardiovascularproblemsorthatpolyunsaturatedfatsareasbeneficialas
typicallyclaimed.[1]WalterWillett,thecurrentchairoftheDepartmentof
NutritionintheHarvardSchoolofPublicHealth,hasbeencriticalofthis
metaanalysis,sayingit"containsmultipleerrorsandomissions"andis
"seriouslymisleading."[2]

CompareAnything

HDL

Whilemoststudieshavefocusedontheallegedconnectionbetween
saturatedfatsandcardiovasculardisease,othershavelookedatpossible
linksbetweenthesefatsandcancer.Variousstudieshavefoundlinks
betweensaturatedfattyacidsandbreastcancer[3],colorectalcancer[4],
ovariancancer[5],pancreaticcancer[6],andprostatecancer[7]andatleast
onestudyfoundsaturatedfatscontributedtothefailureofprostatecancer
treatments.Otherstudieshavefoundnoorlittleassociation.Furtherresearch
isrequiredtoknowifthereisanactuallinkbetweensaturatedfatandthese
illnesses.

SourcesofSaturatedandUnsaturatedFats
Mostsaturatedfatscomefromanimalbasedproducts,likemilk,butter,and
icecreamredmeatandpoultryandafewoilsderivedfromplants(e.g.,
coconutoilandpalmoil).Unsaturatedfatsareprimarilyfoundinvegetable
oils(e.g.,oliveoil),nutsandnutbutters,avocados,andfish.
Itisimportanttoknow,though,thatmanyfoodshaveacombinationof
saturatedandunsaturatedfats.Forexample,apastadishmightuseoliveoil
mostlymonounsaturatedfatandfetamostlysaturatedfat.Thepasta
itselfcontainsatinyamountofbothsaturatedandunsaturatedfat,too.

vs.

LDL

GO

RecommendedDailyIntake
Doctorsanddietitiansusuallyfollowwhatispresentlymainstreamscienceby
tellingtheirpatientstolimittheamountofsaturatedfatstheyeatinaday.
Mostexpertsrecommendthatnomorethan2535%ofone'sdailycalories
comefromanyfat,andthatonly710%specificallycomefromsaturatedfats.
Thisroughlyequals60to65gramsoffat(andspecifically16to20gramsof
saturatedfat)inadailydietof2,000calories.
Becausemanystudieshavefoundlowcarb,lowsaturatedfatdietstobe
beneficial,someexpertsnowrecommendvegetarianismoratleastlessmeat
consumption.Othersarehighlycriticalofsomepopulardiets,suchasthe
paleodiet,thatmayincreaseone'sdailyconsumptionofsaturatedfat.[8]

Chemistry
Fatsortriglyceridesaremadeupofglycerol(analcohol)andfatty
acids,whicharelongcarbonhydrogenchainsthatendinacarboxylgroup.
Triglyceridesareeithersaturated(withhydrogen)orunsaturated.Saturated
fattyacidscontaincarbonatomsthatconnectwitheachotherinachainof
singlebonds.Soeachcarbonatomcanbondwithtwohydrogenatoms,and
issaidtobe"saturated"withhydrogen.Unsaturatedfattyacidscontainsome
carbonatomsthatbondwitheachotherusingdoublebonds.Sothesecarbon
atomscanonlybondwithonehydrogenatominsteadoftwo,andaresaidto
be"unsaturated".Afattyacidwithasingledoublebondisamonounsaturated
fattyacid,whileafattyacidwithtwoormoredoublebondsisknownasa
polyunsaturatedfat.
Thesedifferentchemicalstructuresresultindifferentphysicalpropertiesfor
saturatedandunsaturatedtriglycerides.Saturatedfats,likebutterorbacon
grease,solidifyatroomtemperature,whileunsaturatedfattyacids,likeolive
oil,tendtobeliquidatroomtemperature.Unsaturatedfattyacidmolecules
arenottightlypacked,whichmakesiteasierforthemtopassmorefluidly
throughthebody.

CompareAnything

HDL

Thereareafewoilsthataresaturatedfatswhicharedoublebonded,but
theyarestilltightlypackedwithhydrogentheseoilsoftensolidifyatroom
temperature(e.g.,coconutoil).
Bio103 BioMolecules

TheTakeaway
Whilescientificresearchanddebateisongoing,thegeneralconsensusisas
follows:

vs.

LDL

GO

Watchyourcalorificintaketomakesureyoudonotconsumetoomany
calories,especiallyifyouhaveasedentarylifestyle.
Eatfewercarbs.Carbsconverttosugar,andtoomanycarbsincrease
theriskofdiabetesandcardiovasculardiseases.
Lessthan10%ofyourtotalrecommendedcalorificintakeshouldbe
sourcedfromsaturatedfats.However,ifinthepursuitofthisgoal,you
replacesaturatedfatwithcarbsorpartiallyhydrogenatedoils,theeffect
onyourhealthmaybejustasbad,ifnotworse.
Avoidtransfats.

References
DietaryfatandheartdiseasestudyisseriouslymisleadingHarvardSchoolofPublic
Health
DietaryFatInformationCDC.gov
FattyAcidsStanfordUniversity
TheQuestionableLinkBetweenSaturatedFatandHeartDiseaseWSJ
Wikipedia:Saturatedfatandcardiovasculardiseasecontroversy
Wikipedia:Saturatedfat
Wikipedia:Unsaturatedfat

RelatedComparisons

HDL vs LDL

CisFat vs TransFat

Calories vs Fat

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Comments:SaturatedFatsvsUnsaturatedFats
20Comments

Sortby Newest

Addacomment...

JoanMcGovernUWMilwaukee
Itispossiblethatsaturatedandunsaturatedfattyacidsaremuchmorecomplexand
nuancedthanpreviouslythought.Ireallyappreciatethatthisauthorsaidthisthisis
whyIhavereliedmoreandmoreonthetraditionalfatsofmyancestorstorecover
frommyvegetariandietwithalotofnutsandseeds.IfyoureN.Europeanorhavea
chronichealthproblem,youmaynotbeabletometabolizetheunsaturatedfats
foundinnutsandseedsand,ofcourse,invegetableoil(notoliveoil,whichhasless
than10%unsaturatedfat).Instead,Ieatchickenfatandbutter,andInowfeelmuch,
muchbetter.Thinkanice,richchickensoupnowthatsahealthyfood!
LikeReplyJan26,20167:33am

vs.

LDL

GO

JamanGothwalDeputyGeneralManageratBSESYamunaPowerLtd
Alwaysbalancedietwithproperexerciseandyogaarebetterchoiceforhealthy
life.JamanGothwal,
AkshardhamTempleDelhi.
LikeReplyJan17,20162:00am

JoshKingStudentatAldenhamSchool
There'safairamountofmisleadingandcontradictorystatmentshere.
Oneisthestatement"[Thereareafewoilsthataresaturatedfatswhicharedouble
bonded...]"
Ifyoudoknowthechemistryyou'llalsoknowthatbydefinitionasaturatedfatcannot
bedoublebonded...asthiswouldmakeitanunstauratedfat...
NextIsthefirsttable,inwhichthecoloumnforsaturatedfatsmentionstransfats
twiceinit,seeminglyassociatingthemassaturatedfats.Againfollowingthe
chemistry,asaturatedfatcannotpossiblybeatransfat,astransonlyreferstoatom
placementaroundadouble... SeeMore
LikeReply

1Nov6,20154:08pm

VickyChemutaiUgandaChristianUniversity
Eatingfoodshighinsaturatedfatsincreaseschanceofgettingcardiovascular
diseases.
LikeReplyMar3,201511:55pm

krusatyr4
1.Theinteractionoffoodsandexerciseissignificant.
2.HalfoftheCardiologistsIseeinmedicalhallwaysarefit,halfarefat.
3.Geneticpredispositiontoheartdiseasefromallfourgrandparentsmeansentirely
quitfriedfood,icecreamanddonuts,etc,after25yearsold.
LikeReplyJan8,20156:29am

ScottKantruss
EatingfoodshighinsaturatedfatALWAYSincreasesmycholesteroland
triglycerideslevelswhenIgetbloodworkdoneattheDr's.Hecanalwaystellbythe
resultshowI'vebeeneatingrecentlyandletsmeknowit.ThatisalltheproofIneed.
LikeReplyDec29,20145:17am

fidhaaysha
good..thnku..
LikeReplyNov2,20141:34am

GauravTiwariSoftwareEngineeratFirstCry.com
iikhhh!!!butilikebutterncheesealot
LikeReplyJan31,201410:17am

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TaraLaMonte

HDL

Thisarticleisfulloferrorsbothintermsofgrammaraswellasinbasicscientificfact.
Ifoneisgoingtopresentthemselvesasanexpertinthefieldofcomparison,they
shouldconductmuchbetterresearch.AmItheonlyonewhonoticedthatvegetable
oilislistedasasaturatedfat?Ifthiswerethecase,itwouldbesolidatroom
temperature,notliquid.Icameacrossthiswebsitewhilecrossreferencingaclient's
organicchemintextcitations.Luckilyhehiredanoutsideconsultantbecausethis
siteisajoke!Andbytheway,RobertBrink,Iwouldlovetoseevalidpeer
rev... SeeMore
LikeReply

1Dec11,20138:34pm

AwadheshPandeyBCE/NITPATNA/PATNAUNIVERSITY
whethersaffolagoldcomesunderunsaturatedfats?
LikeReply

2Nov5,20137:33pm

LaurieSimonClarkWestChester,Pennsylvania
Anthony,couldyoupleaseletmeknowwhatresearchyoubaseyouropinionthat
saturatedfatsaregoodforyoubecausetheyhavealongshelflife?Ihavebeen
strugglingtounderstandthedifferencebetweenthedifferenttypesoffatsandtheir
effectsonourbodies.It'saverycomplextopicandI'mstillnotsureIunderstandhow
whatweeataffectsourcholesterol.Theresearchsaysthatsaturatedfatsraiseyour
LDLandloweryourLDLwhichistheoppositeofwhatcurrentresearchrecommend.
Idon'tbelievethatwhetherfatturningrancidisagoodindicatorastowhetherafatis
go... SeeMore
LikeReply

2Oct10,20136:59pm

ReallynDalarHipolanMemberatBiologicalAndPhysicalScienceSociety
lykit.
LikeReplyAug30,20131:25am

PhaybouneNaMekong
Iunderstandbetterthedifferencebetweensateratedandunsateratedfats.

vs.

LDL

GO

Iunderstandbetterthedifferencebetweensateratedandunsateratedfats.
LikeReplyApr23,20135:47pm

AnthonyBarbettoDrexelUniversity
Doesanyoneseethehypocrisyinthisarticle?
Saturatedfatshavealongshelflifeanddon'tspoil,polyunsaturatedfatshaveashort
shelflifeandspoilveryquickly.Yet,saturatedfatsareunhealthyandpolyunsaturated
fatsarehealthy?Seriously?
Whatdoyouthinkhappenswhenyouingestthesethings?Theyoxidize.Saturated
fatsstaystableuponoxidation,polyunsaturatedfatsbreakintofreeradicalsand
inflamethebody.Thisarticleisgreatadviceifyou'retryingtodieofheartdisease,
cancerorsomeotherdegenerativediseaseduetochronicinflammationcausedby
theing... SeeMore
LikeReply

10Mar22,20139:58am

JoanneJackson
Wellsaid!
LikeReply

1Jun2,20133:15am

BobBrinkReporter/FeatureWriteratTampaTribune
AnthonyBarbettohasit100percentcorrect.Theanonymouspersonwho
advisedhimtogethisfactsright"beforetryingtosoundsosmart"woulddo
welltofollowhisownadvice.Mr.Barbettoissupportedbyahostoftop
alternativephysicianswhoareindependentmindedenoughtospeakthe
truthratherthanfollowthefalsedogmaissuedbythemedical
establishment.Isn'titinterestingthatwiththeincreasingemphasison
vegetableoilsandlowsaturatedfatonourgroceryshelves,obesityinthis
countryhassteadilygrown.
LikeReply

1Jun20,20134:53pm

BrianKuhlmann
WellAnthonyBarbetto,thoseonthePritikindietwouldstronglydisagree
withyou.Thedietthathasthemostsupportingstudiesbehinditsaysaplant
baseddietwithlotsofveggiesisbest.Ifyoueatredmeat,limitittooncea
month.Thedataonhowbadmassiveconsumptionofredmeatisformost
peopleisoverwhelming.Limitchickento1x/wk,Salmonto2x/wk.Yourdiet
soundsverymuchliketheSouthBeachorPaleo,whichhasnosupportand
isaverybadideaforthelongterm.
LikeReply

1Oct9,201312:05pm

LeslieGomezSr.PastoratTrabajoparalaobradeDios
youexplaineditwell,nowIunderstanditbetter.Iwaskindofskepticusingcoconut
oil.Thankyou.
LikeReply

2Jan11,20138:22am

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Anonymouscomments(5)
March23,2014,12:52pm

Toomuchconsumptionofeitherunsaturatedorsaturatedproducts
cancauseyouharmsoAnthonyisnotENTIRELYincorrectastoo
muchofunsaturatedfatcancauseyouasmuchharmassaturatedfat
canatahighintakerate.
2...167

HDL

vs.

LDL

GO

November4,2013,1:25am

AnthonyIdon'tthinkyouunderstandthecomplexitiesofthebody.
Justbecausethebodyismadeofsomethingdoesn'tmeanit'sbestto
consumeitotherwiseherbivoreswouldn'texist.Thebodyoftenneeds
thethingsitcannotmakeitself(suchasessentialfattyacids),but
oftenneedslittleofthethingsitcontainsinhighamounts(itproduces
itwithothercompounds,andthereforedoesn'tneedasmuch).Just
becausesaturatedfatsarewithinourbodydoesn'tmeanhigh
consumptionofthemisgoodforyou.Andtothefellowstatingthat
alternativescientistsaresayingotherwise,perhapsyoushouldread
thebook"BadScience."Justbecausethey'realternative,doesn't
meanthey'remorecorrect(andit'sthesametheotherwayaroundof
course).Itcomesdowntowhatstudiesreport,readingthosestudies,
understandingthosestudiesandhowtotellifthey'regoodornot.And
thosethousandsofstudiesbymainstreamandalternativeresearcher
showingthenegativesofsaturatedfatsareusuallyprettygood.
208...192

February18,2009,1:55pm

whatiwannaseeisachartoffoodfatlikemilkandbreadandstuff
likethat
72...41

June20,2013,3:57am

AnthonyBarbetto,yourlogiciscompletelywrong.Saturatedfats
causeabuildupofLDLcholesterolinthebloodstream,whichblocks
thearteriesandleadstoanINCREASEDchanceofdeveloping
atherosclerosisandothercoronaryheartdiseases.Unsaturatedfats
increasetheamountofHDLcholesterol,whichDECREASESthe
amountofLDLcholesterolinthebloodstream,therefore
DECREASINGthelikelihoodofblockedarteriesandthuscoronary
heartdiseases.Makesureyouhaveyourfactsstraightbeforetryingto
soundsmart.
71...102

November15,2012,11:55pm

thiswassohelpful.ijustdidmywholeprojectbasedonthis:P
98...86

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GO

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