It's a great replacement for butter, which contains some unsaturated fat but is mostly a saturated fat. We've been told that saturated fat is unhealthy. Their health impact is controversial. The Saturated Fat Debate. Their health impact is controversial. Saturated fat is good for health. Saturated fats. Why saturated fat is the good guy. Animal fats, like lard and butter, are good examples. In 2010, a meta-analysis involving more than 300,000 individuals found no significant evidence that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease. The evidence. Looking at the diagram, it’s clear that my family takes more saturated fat on a daily basis. Herbal Medicine & Nutrition can help! Another article, published in the Journal of Nutrition, went even further: “There is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of (coronary heart disease) or CVD [cardiovascular disease].”. Saturated fat vs Unsaturated fat. Switching to healthful fats. Saturated fat is known to raise LDL (bad) cholesterol, the kind that’s associated with heart disease. Saturated and unsaturated fat are the two primary forms of dietary fat. Instead, focus on choosing foods that contain unsaturated fats, instead of foods that contain saturated or trans fats. We examine their differences and effects. Don't get bogged down in the details. For example, canola oil contains some saturated fat but is mostly a monounsaturated fat. Saturated fat has a bad rap, but you may wonder whether the criticism is warranted. Most come from animal sources such as beef, poultry, whole-fat milk, cheese and butter, however several come from plant sources, like coconut, palm and palm kernel oils. Do you have a health concern that you'd like to approach naturally? This article takes a detailed look at saturated fat and whether it is good or bad for your health. Reducing saturated fat alone, without considering what it is replaced with may not be beneficial and doesn’t tell the whole story. However... many recent studies suggest that the true picture is more complicated than that.. It is normally solid at room temperature. Saturated Fat and Brain Health. It is claimed to raise cholesterol levels and give us heart attacks. But you will find most of the dietitians and health gurus are condemning it as the number one culprit behind the rise in bad cholesterol and heart diseases. My knowledge about cholesterol is very rusty so this piece of information is a good revision for me. The topic of saturated fat is and will continue to be a hot debate, and for good reason. Is saturated fat bad? Dairy products has become a staple diet out of habit and consumerism … The topic of saturated fat is and will continue to be a hot debate, and for good reason. This is why saturated fats tend to be solids at room temperature. This means that they can lie flat and pack together densely. A recent evidence review which underpins the Heart Foundation’s Position on Fat, found that ‘proportional change in energy’ is important when we study the relationship between fat and health. Saturated fats get their name from the fact that their fatty acids are saturated with hydrogen molecules. Besides having a surprisingly positive effect on your cholesterol, saturated fat is also critical for the brain. Saturated and unsaturated fat are the two primary forms of dietary fat. Saturated fat is known to raise LDL (bad) cholesterol, the kind that’s associated with heart disease. The Saturated Fat Debate.