What is Saturated fat and unsaturated fat ?
On an average a male’s body consists of 17 percent body fat whereas female body consists of around 14 – 24 percent of body fat .
Fat is considered as the major storage form of energy in the human body . Fat is regarded as the source of essential fatty acids .
There are four different types of fats in the human body :-
- Saturated Fats
- Monounsaturated Fats
- Polyunsaturated Fats
- Trans Fats
Saturated Fats
They basically comes from animal food products and some also from plants . We shouldn’t take more than 10 percent of saturated fats of total calories per day as eating excessive saturated fat increases the amount of cholesterol in the blood and also increase the risk of heart disease.
Sources of Saturated Fat :- They are found in cheese , butter , milk , in plant oils such as palm oil , coconut oil . Also fried foods also come under the category of saturated fats .
Chemically its a type of fat in which fatty acid consists of single bonds. It is solid at room temperature.
UnSaturated Fats
These fats are good for health . In simple words , these fats doesn’t increase bad cholesterol level in the blood .Chemically these fats contain at least one double bond. It is liquid at room temperature.
There are two types of unsaturated Fats :-
- Monounsaturated Fats
- Polyunsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated Fats
These are healthy type of Fats . Their Sources are avocados , peanut butter and different oils such as soyabean oil , sunflower oil , olive oil etc . Animal Foods such as pork , beef , chicken are also sources of monosaturated fats .
Polyunsaturated Fats
These are considered better than monounsaturated fats . They are found in walnuts , pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds , sesame , tofu etc.
Most Fats contains both saturated and unsaturated Fats .
Trans Fats
These also comes under the category of unhealthy foods . These are worst for your health and increase risk of various diseases .
Trans fats are also regarded as “partially hydrogenated oils”. Their sources are frozen foods ,
fast foods , snacks , spreads etc.
