Saturated fats mainly found in animal foods – meats, whole milk, and cheese. Some vegetable fats such as coconut and palm and hydrogenated fats provide smaller amounts of saturated fats.
Coconut oil contains as much as 92 percent saturated fats – more that any other oil, including beef fat and lard.
In the 1950s and 1960s when saturated fats was first being associated with elevated cholesterol, researchers began looking for other effects caused by saturated fat.
High intakes of saturated fats contribute most of high blood low density lipoprotein LDL cholesterol. It contributed to heart disease, obesity and other health problems.
Most notable among the saturated fatty acids that raise blood cholesterol are lauric, myristic and palmitic acids.
A fatty acid molecule that has two hydrogen atoms attacked to each carbon is said to be ‘saturated’ with hydrogen because it is holding all the hydrogen atoms it possibly can. This fatty acid is called a saturated fat.
Generally foods that high in saturated fats content are solid at room temperature.
Saturated fat in food
