Saturated vs Unsaturated Fats: What's the Difference? Fats saturated and unsaturated

This article is purely theoretical. However, it is important for understanding the need to include saturated and unsaturated fats in your diet for everyone who leads an active lifestyle (plays sports).

All fats can be divided into two large groups:

• Saturated - predominantly animals, as a rule, solid;
• Unsaturated - predominantly vegetable, usually liquid.

The differences between them lie in the chemical structure. We will not go into the wilds of scientific terminology, we will only note that the sign by which this or that fatty acid is considered either saturated or unsaturated is the number of bonds between carbon atoms and other atoms in the fatty acid molecule. The valency of carbon (that is, the number of chemical bonds with other atoms) is IV. Take a look at the picture:

If carbon atoms have one bond on each side, then they are called saturated, if double (or triple) are present, then the whole chain is called unsaturated.

The different omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 labels merely show where the double (or triple) bond is present in the length of the molecule.

The most logical question is: why do single or double (triple) bond fats exist? The fact is that the double bond in unsaturated fats provides free space in the molecule, giving it the ability to enter into chemical reactions and change the structure.

In other words, free space allows an unsaturated fat molecule to selectively add various other molecules to itself, thereby changing its chemical properties and the overall structure of the substance (tissue) in which they are included. In this sense, saturated fats are "chemically inert".

This fact is very important for plants. They cannot move (they do not have the function of locomotion), therefore, when adverse environmental conditions occur (reduction in the amount of sunlight, temperature fluctuations), they need to somehow secure their existence (survive). Plants change the composition of their fat, and it becomes dense, thereby retaining heat and protecting them from the cold.

In animals, everything is completely different: their fat cannot be modified, since it has a single carbon bond. But animals have the function of locomotion (they can move). Therefore, when adverse external conditions occur, the animal can simply change its habitat (hide in a hole, hibernate, or “fly south”). Instead of changing the state of the fat cells, the animal simply moves into a different environment.

However, one should not think that only saturated fat is present in animals, while unsaturated fat is present in plants. Both types of lipids are present both in the animal body and in plants, but only the corresponding ones dominate.

So, for example, 100 ml of sunflower oil contains approximately 15% saturated fatty acids, i.e. as much as 15 ml. As a rule, it is 10-11% palmitic and 4-5% stearic acid.

At the same time, 100 grams of mutton fat contains as much as 35% oleic acid, which is entirely related to unsaturated fatty acids. All this once again proves the inconsistency and incompetence of advice related to limiting saturated and animal fats in the diet.

In addition to the above classification, unsaturated fats are divided into:

• Monounsaturated fatty acids - MUFA;
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids - PUFAs.

They differ in the number of double (triple) bonds. In MUFAs, there is only one such bond, while in PUFAs there are several. At the moment, it is polyunsaturated fatty acids that are called the most useful of all unsaturated fats.

Fat plays an important role in atherosclerosis. The conducted studies raised the question of the qualitative composition of dietary fat for the normalization of cholesterol metabolism and, consequently, for the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Vegetable oils not only do not increase the level of cholesterolemia, but rather, on the contrary, reduce it. It was found that vegetable oils give one or another degree of cholesterolemia reduction, depending on the content of unsaturated fats in them.

When switching to a diet with a large amount of vegetable oil (instead of animal), the plasma cholesterol content is significantly reduced in healthy and atherosclerotic patients. Of all the plant-based unsaturated fats, corn oil proved to be the most effective in lowering cholesterol.

Unsaturated fatty acids - linoleic, linolenic, arachidonic - have very active biological properties. These unsaturated fats are not synthesized in the animal body, they come exclusively with food - with vegetable oil. The main property of unsaturated fats is that they convert cholesterol into a soluble, labile form. More than 60% of plasma cholesterol is cholesterol esters with linoleic acid.

Unsaturated fats affect the metabolism of choline: a deficiency in the body of unsaturated fats leads to a sharp decrease in the lipotropic properties of choline and a weakening of its synthesis. With a lack of unsaturated fats, there is a decrease in elasticity and an increase in vascular permeability. Unsaturated fats contribute to the action of vitamins - ascorbic acid, thiamine; there is a very close connection between the action of these acids and the action of pyridoxine.

Unsaturated fats are found in foods in varying amounts. Linoleic acid is found in walnut fat (73%), sunflower (44-75%) and soybean (52%) oils, peanuts (48-72%), flaxseed (15-43%), fish (40%) and chicken (21%) fat, in butter and rapeseed oil (3-4%), linolenic acid - only in linseed, a little in soybean and rapeseed oil, in walnuts. Yolks and brains, liver tissue, containing a lot of lecithin (phosphatides), almost do not contain these acids. Arachidonic acid is formed from linolenic acid in the presence of vitamin B6 as an enzyme.

Therapeutic uses of unsaturated fats

Malmros adopted a special diet in which vegetable oils (corn, safflower, and hydrogenated coconut) were used to make foods (milk and cheese); otherwise, the food consisted of bread, cereals, potatoes, rice, vegetables, fruits, sugar. The use of a diet with corn oil in patients with myocardial infarction in the first week led to a decrease in hypercholesterolemia to a normal level. Keys, Andersen and Grande used different fat diets. On a diet containing regular (butter) oil, cholesterol levels were 52 mg% higher than on a diet with corn oil, 35.2 mg% higher than on a diet with sunflower oil, and 39.8 mg% higher. than with the sardine oil diet. When the type of edible fat was changed, the cholesterol content changed: it became higher after replacing corn oil with sardine oil and lower when the replacement was reversed. The content of cholesterol in beta-lipoproteins did not change.

Unsaturated vegetable fat lowers cholesterol, while partially hydrogenated vegetable fat often and saturated animal fat tend to increase it. True, perhaps it is not the degree of saturation that plays a role, but the participation of as yet unexplained factors that increase (animal fat) and lower (vegetable fat) the level of cholesterolemia. In this case, the process of cholesterol esterification plays a role. Esterification of cholesterol occurs with the help of unsaturated fats; with a deficiency of the latter, the normal esterification of cholesterol is disturbed. There are instructive observations on healthy medical students who received various grades of fat. In groups of individuals who were prescribed vegetable oil, cholesterol levels decreased; in the group treated with beef, chicken fat, butter, cholesterol levels increased.

P. E. Lukomsky reported on observations made with his head: giving linetol, consisting of unsaturated fats, to patients with atherosclerosis for several weeks leads to a significant decrease in cholesterol levels, as well as to a decrease in the concentration of beta-lipoproteins in the blood, to a greater extent than this observed with the appointment of lipotropic substances such as choline or methionine, and vitamins such as pyridoxine and B12.

O. X. Aliyeva prescribed a diet for patients with atherosclerosis replacing 2/3 of the fat diet with sunflower oil and observed a decrease in cholesterolemia and a decrease in the beta-lipoprotein fraction. Obtained a distinct hypocholesterolemic effect in the appointment of corn oil; in the experiment, at the same time, a weakening of the degree of atherosclerotic changes was established.

Saturated fats are increasingly discussed in relation to the impact they have on human health. Such increased attention has arisen since they found their way into the composition of many foods, especially confectionery. Previously, people knew that any diet should contain vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. However, today the latter have been massively abandoned. But it's not just that they were used in the past. What happened?

What do fats do in the body

Biologists, nutritionists, food workers, and even simple housewives who are versed in cooking know that the body cannot be healthy if it is not given the necessary elements in time, especially proteins, carbohydrates and fats. In this article, we will only talk about fats, although this does not mean that they are more important than the other two elements. Let's just leave proteins and carbohydrates for separate studies.

So, fats. In chemistry, they are called triglycerides, which belong to the class of lipids. These elements are part of the membrane, which allows cells to pass other substances. Lipids also provide the activity of enzymes, nerve impulses, muscles, create connections for different cells and participate in the processes necessary for the functioning of the immune system.

Among the well-known functions that fats perform in the body, we single out energy, heat-insulating and protective. Without fats, there will be no energy to create proteins and other complex molecules. The body will not be able to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and carry out many other chemical processes.

Fats and lifestyle

Humans need fat. But it is important to remember that the body must use them, and not accumulate them. The more active the lifestyle, the more lipids are consumed. The modern rhythm of life is less and less conducive to activity - sedentary or monotonous work, relaxing on the Internet or watching TV. We rarely go home on foot, more often by public transport or car. The result is that the body does not need the energy that it receives from fats, which means that they remain intact and accumulate.

A sedentary daily routine is complicated by a fat-rich diet. The ever-accelerating rhythm of life does not give people the opportunity to eat in a calm home environment. You have to snack on fast food in eateries or products of the confectionery industry on the go. These types of food supply a lot of lipids to the body, as well as foods containing saturated fats. They do harm.

Fats in detail

According to their chemical characteristics, lipids are divided into two categories - saturated and unsaturated fats. The first molecule has a closed structure. It is incapable of attaching other atoms to itself. The chain of unsaturated fats has exposed carbon atoms. If there is only one such atom in the chain, then the molecule is called monounsaturated. There are also chains in which several carbon atoms have free space. These are polyunsaturated molecules. Why do we need all these chemical details?

The fact is that it is the ability of the chain to attach other atoms to itself that makes the fat that enters the body useful. What is its use? The fact that these free places create conditions for the formation of new molecules. Free carbon atoms in the composition of fats add other elements to themselves, after which the new chain becomes more necessary and useful for the body. Saturated fats do not have this ability, so the body cannot use them for other purposes. Because of this, with excessive intake, they accumulate.

Cholesterol should be a friend

Saturated fats have another feature that makes them outcasts. They contain cholesterol. As soon as they heard this word, many immediately thought of blood vessels, excess weight, heart muscle. Yes, unfortunately, the consequences of modern lifestyles have made cholesterol an enemy for many.

However, this molecule is not always harmful. Moreover, our body needs it so much that it produces it itself. What for? Without cholesterol, the process of creating many hormones (cortisol, testosterone, estrogen and others) is impossible. In addition, this organic compound is involved in complex intracellular reactions, on which the activity of the entire cell, and hence the entire organism, depends.

Journey of cholesterol

The human body is supplied with cholesterol in two ways - it is produced in the liver and enters through fats. Saturated and unsaturated lipids supply cholesterol in different compounds. The fact is that this substance does not dissolve in water. It enters the blood along with lipoproteins. These molecules have a complex structure and a very diverse composition.

Low density lipoproteins are already saturated with cholesterol. They simply move with the blood throughout the body and are used by those cells in which there is a shortage of this substance. These lipoproteins are found in saturated fats.

If cholesterol enters the body in the form of high-density lipoproteins, then there is more benefit. These elements contain little cholesterol and are able to attach it. Therefore, approaching those cells in which there is an excess of cholesterol, they take it away and transfer it to the liver. There it is processed and removed from the body. Such lipoproteins are found more often in the composition of unsaturated fats.

Don't Skip Fatty Acids

An excess of unused lipids and cholesterol in the body leads to very serious diseases. Diet is an important factor in good health. You need to make sure that saturated fats do not enter the body with food. What products contain them?

All lipids are very complex in composition. It cannot be stated unequivocally that only animal or only plant food consists of certain substances. Saturated fats are found in both animal and plant foods. Meat, lard, butter are carriers of saturated lipids of animal origin. If we talk about carriers of plant origin, then these are cocoa (its oil), coconut and palm (their oils).

Sources of animal fatty acids

Saturated animal fats contain all fat-soluble vitamins (A, C, carotene, D, B1, E, B2). However, the cholesterol content in them is very high (in oil - 200 mg / 100 g, in lard - 100 mg / 100 g). It is advisable to consume these fats in a limited amount - no more than 70 grams per day.

The best way out is to replace animal lipids with vegetable ones, consisting of unsaturated fatty acids. Butter is replaced with olive oil (this is the best solution, since this product does not contain “bad” cholesterol at all), linseed or sunflower. Meat is replaced with fish.

Remember, saturated fats are high in calories. If you treat yourself to meat, fries or a hamburger during the day, be sure to walk a few stops on your way home. This is the easiest way to use up the lipids you have eaten.

Plant Sources of Harmful Lipids

Saturated fats are vegetable oils. A very unusual phrase. More often we are used to hearing that they replace fatty acids. Yes, they did it before. Today, this is also practiced, especially in the confectionery industry. Just replace butterfat with palm oil. This is a very worrying trend.

Palm and coconut oils are saturated fats. What products don't have them? Only those made at home. If you eat in public catering, then you will not succeed in avoiding the consumption of unhealthy fats.

Many manufacturers add either cheap palm oil (instead of expensive animal fats) or artificial trans fats to their products. The latter are a masterpiece of food industry cynicism. To increase the shelf life of products and make them cheap, food workers take chains of unsaturated fats and add oxygen to them (to free places in the molecule). As a result, the chain loses its useful functions, turns into solid vegetable fat, which is convenient for use, but very useless for the body. The cells don't know what to do with it and just accumulate it.

But it also has other important functions: supplying the body with essential fatty acids (some of which are essential) and fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. Fats form the lipid barrier of our skin, preventing moisture from evaporating and protecting the skin from drying out. Fat helps the body use proteins and carbohydrates efficiently. Sufficient fat content is necessary for good brain activity, concentration, memory.

But fat is different for fat, and the world of fat is so diverse and rich that you can get confused and confused. There are animal and vegetable fats (oils), solid and liquid, refractory and fusible.

So which fats are good for us and which ones are bad? - you ask. So the question cannot be asked. Both the harm and the benefits of fats depend only on their amount in the diet and combination. All natural fats and oils are mixtures of saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Any conditionally “healthy” fat contains a small amount of harmful fats, while any “harmful” fat contains useful ones.

Fats (otherwise triglycerides) belong to the class of lipids, and are natural organic compounds of esters of glycerol and fatty acids. But already these fatty acids are divided into: Saturated and unsaturated .

If there is at least one free carbon bond in a fatty acid molecule that is not bonded to hydrogen, it is an unsaturated acid; if there is no such bond, then it is saturated.

Saturated fatty acids in large quantities (up to 50% of the total mass) are found in solid animal fats. The exceptions are palm and coconut oils - despite their vegetable origin, their fatty acids are saturated. Saturated acids - butyric, acetic, margaric, stearic, palmitic, arachidic, etc. Palmitic acid is one of the most abundant fatty acids in animal and plant lipids. In animal fats and cottonseed oil, this acid makes up a quarter of all fatty acids. The most rich in palmitic acid (almost half of the total fatty acids) is palm oil.

Unsaturated fatty acids are found mainly in liquid vegetable oils and seafood. In many vegetable oils, their content reaches 80-90% (in sunflower, corn, linseed,). Animal fats also contain unsaturated acids, but their amount is small. Unsaturated include: palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic arachidonic and other acids. There is also such a subtlety, unsaturated fatty acids, in the molecule of which there is one free carbon bond, are called monounsaturated, those that have two or more of these bonds are polyunsaturated.

Monounsaturated fatty acids are not indispensable, since our body is able to produce them. The most abundant of the monounsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid, is found in high amounts in olive oil, avocado oil, and peanut oil. This type of acid is believed to help lower blood cholesterol levels.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-6 acid complex) –
contained in sunflower oil, soybean oil, vegetable margarine.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 acid complex) . According to the degree of usefulness, they are in the first place, as they have a wide effect on various body systems: they have a positive effect on cardiac activity, eliminate depression, prevent aging, reduce cognitive and mental abilities with age, and have a host of other useful qualities. They belong to the so-called "essential" fatty acids, which the body cannot synthesize on its own and must be supplied with food. Their main source is sea fish and seafood, and the further north the fish lives, the more omega-3 acids in its fat. Similar fatty acids are found in some plants, nuts, seeds, and oils derived from them. The main one is alpha-linolenic acid. There is a lot of it in rapeseed, soybean oils, linseed and camelina oils. They should not be cooked, but should be added to salads or taken as a dietary supplement. A completely vegetable omega-3 acid cannot replace marine: only a small part of it is converted in our body into the same acids that are found in fish.

Fats we choose

Comparing the most common fatty foods, we can be surprised to see that vegetable oils are ahead of both butter and lard in terms of calories, and olive oil contains almost no polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Sunflower oil (omega-6 acids). The most traditional vegetable oil in our latitudes. Contains a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids, but too little omega-3 fats. This is its main disadvantage.
Total fat content - 98%
Saturated Fat - 12 g
Monounsaturated - 19 g
Polyunsaturated 69 g of which: omega-6 - 68 g; omega-3 - 1 g
Calorie content - 882 kcal

Olive oil (omega-9).
Total fat content - 98%
Saturated Fat - 16 g
Monounsaturated -73 g
Polyunsaturated - 11 g, of which: omega-6 - 10 g; omega-3 - 1 g
Calorie content - 882 kcal
The percentage of polyunsaturated acids in it is small, but it contains a huge amount of oleic acid. Oleic acid is present in plant and animal cell membranes and contributes to maintaining the elasticity of arteries and skin. It is stable at high temperatures (so olive oil is good for frying). Yes, and it is absorbed better than others. Olive oil is well tolerated even by people suffering from digestive disorders, diseases of the liver and gallbladder. Moreover, such patients are even recommended to take a spoonful of olive oil on an empty stomach - this has a slight choleretic effect.

Flaxseed oil (source of omega-3 acids). An ideal source of rare in the normal diet and the most valuable omega-3 fats. Used as a dietary supplement, 1 tablespoon per day.
Total fat content - 98%
Saturated Fat - 10 g
Monounsaturated - 21 g
Polyunsaturated - 69 g including: omega-6 - 16 g; omega-3 - 53 g
Calorie content - 882 kcal

Butter. Real butter contains at least 80% milk fat.
Total fat content - 82.5%
Saturated Fat - 56 g
Monounsaturated - 29 g
Polyunsaturated - 3 g
Cholesterol - 200 mg
Calorie content - 781 kcal
Contains vitamins (A, E, B1, B2, C, D, carotene) and lecithin, which lowers cholesterol levels, protects blood vessels, stimulates the immune system, and helps fight stress. Easily digestible.

Salo.
Total fat content - 82%
Saturated Fat - 42 g
Monounsaturated - 44 g
Polyunsaturated - 10 g
Cholesterol - 100 mg
Calorie content - 738 kcal
Pork fat contains valuable polyunsaturated arachidonic acid, which is generally absent in vegetable oils. It is part of cell membranes, is part of the enzyme of the heart muscle, and also participates in cholesterol metabolism. Moreover, in terms of the content of unsaturated fatty acids, lard is far ahead of butter. That is why the biological activity of fat is five times higher than that of butter and beef fat.

Margarine.
Total fat content - 82%
Saturated Fat - 16 g
Monounsaturated - 21 g
Polyunsaturated - 41 g
Calorie content - 766 kcal
Replaces butter, does not contain cholesterol. It has a high content of unsaturated fatty acids. If margarine contains a low content of trans fats (soft margarine), which are formed in the process of partial hydrogenation (hardening) of liquid oils, then its dietary qualities are good enough to replace butter with it.

The only definitively unhealthy fats are trans fats! Independent research confirms the link between diets high in trans fats and coronary heart disease. In 1994, trans fats were found to be responsible for about 30,000 deaths from heart disease in the United States each year.

So what fats and oils to choose (since you can’t do without them)? Nutritionists have not yet come to a consensus on how much cholesterol (and it is also vital) and fatty acids a healthy person should receive. So - more variety, use the full natural potential of fats, but do not overdo it with the amount. Everything is good in moderation!

Traditionally, fats are considered unhealthy. They are usually blamed for almost all diseases, from cardiovascular diseases to diabetes.

However, fats are different: good, bad and very bad. All of them affect human health in different ways.

Let's see why the term "good" fats is not an oxymoron.

Good Fats: Unsaturated

Unsaturated fats are divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Both of these types reduce cholesterol levels in blood. Thus, they fight diseases caused by excess fat in the diet.

The most useful are monounsaturated fats. They reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol, which accumulates in the vessels and clogs them. In addition, monounsaturated fats increase the level of "good" cholesterol, which cleanses blood vessels.

Polyunsaturated fats is an excellent source of fatty acids Omega 3. The human body is not able to produce them, so you can get omega-3 fatty acids only with food.

Do “good” fats make you fat?

All vegetable oils are a combination of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in varying proportions. Olive oil is richest in monounsaturated fatty acids.

However, do not forget that any fat in terms of calories remains ordinary fat. That's why labels on vegetable oil bottles that advertise a product as "light" imply a degree of refinement or flavor, not a reduced fat content.

All vegetable oils 100 percent fat. This means that a tablespoon of the product contains about 120 kcal.

Such a spoon on a large salad bowl will make the dish even healthier. While vegetables drowned even in extra virgin olive oil will be more nutritious and useless than dessert.

Bad Fats: Saturated

Saturated fats are found in animal products, mainly meat and milk. They remain solid at room temperature.

Scientists rightly blame this type of fat for raising the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood. Therefore, experts recommend replacing some of these fats with unsaturated ones.

Important: no need to completely cut out saturated fats. They contain vitamins. And stearic acid is completely capable of being converted in the body into oleic, a monounsaturated fatty acid.

Nutritionists recommend excluding from your diet only fatty pork and processed meat products that contain a large amount of hidden fat: sausages, sausages, convenience foods.

Prefer fresh meat and poultry, cut off excess fat, and do not use oil when cooking them.

Worst fats: trans fats

The human body needs fats. They are a source of energy, a necessary substance for the normal functioning of cells, the nervous system and a prerequisite for the absorption of certain vitamins.

In addition, fats help maintain healthy hair and skin and even protect the body from the cold.

However, experts recommend limiting fat intake to 30-35 percent from the daily calorie intake. These values ​​should not fall below 20 percent. In addition, most of the fats should be unsaturated - that is, liquid oils.