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Are Saturated Fats Really Bad For You ?

Saturated fats have straight chains form and as a result can be packed together very tightly, allowing living organisms to store chemical energy very densely. You can differ from saturated fats and unsaturated fats just from their properties of insoluble in water.

Saturated fats have widespread functions in our body such as forming main structural component of biological membranes, major form of energy storage, part of cell signaling, carrier for fat soluble vitamin (like vitamin A, D, E and K), etc. Human and animals have main energy storage in saturated fats form because of their high calorie content. But actually, our body can produce saturated fats from carbohydrates, proteins or fatty acids by lipogenesis.

We have to realize that we need minimum amount of dietary fat to facilitate absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and carotenoids. We also need minimal amount of fat to provide insulation that prevents heat loss and protects vital organs from shock due to ordinary activities. But consuming too much saturated fats, are increasing tendency of obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

You don’t have too much saturated fat in your diets since our body can produce from carbohydrates, proteins and fatty acids. According to Dietary Reference Intake by Food and Nutritions Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies, we just need 20-35% of our food calorie that is derived from fats. We have to consume saturated fats as low as possible.

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