The general consensus between dietitians, nutritionists, and other experts is that saturated fat is less healthful than unsaturated fat. Some researchers believe that saturated fat may increase the risk of heart disease, while others believe moderate amounts might benefit overall health.
According to findings from a 2015 analysis, reducing saturated fat intake may produce a “small but potentially important” decrease in the risk for heart disease. The authors suggest that people reduce their intake of saturated fats and replace some of them with unsaturated fats.
Saturated fat is a type of dietary fat. These fats have single bonds between their molecules and are “saturated” with hydrogen molecules. They are most often solid at room temperature. Foods like butter, coconut and palm oils, red meat, and cheese have high amounts of saturated fat. Too much saturated fat, as earlier mentioned, can lead to heart disease and other health problems.
Saturated fats are bad for your health in several ways:
1) Risk of heart disease
The human body needs healthy fats for energy storage and metabolism, body temperature regulation, and insulation of vital organs, but too much saturated fat can cause cholesterol to build up in the arteries. Saturated fats raise the LDL (bad) cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol increases the risk for heart disease. [LDL = Low Density Lipoprotein]
2) Weight gain
Many high-fat foods such as pizza, fried foods, have a lot of saturated fat. Eating too much fat can add extra calories to your diet and cause you to gain weight.
TIPS FOR A FAT-HEALTHY DIET
1) Be cautious about foods that claim to be fat-free or low in fat. Many of these products contain added sugars and refined carbohydrates to replace the fats. These ingredients can increase caloric intake without any extra nutritional value.
2) Grilling, baking, or steaming foods instead of deep-frying them.
3) Choosing low fat milk instead of whole milk, or lean meat instead of fatty cuts of meat.
4) Switching to healthful fats. Foods such as sardines, avocado and walnuts provide a good amount of unsaturated fats.
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