Introduction

The types of fats that we ingest can either enhance our health or harm it. In general, unsaturated fats are considered the “healthier fat”. Diets high in saturated and trans-fat increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and may be linked to certain forms of cancer and neurological diseases. No more than 6% of your total intake of fat should be saturated fat. You should avoid trans fats altogether. Let us examine why?

The following video helps demonstrate the differences between the different types of fats.

Summary

• Fats can be saturated, which means their fatty acid chains contain carbons that have the maximum number of hydrogens bounded to them. The fats can be tightly packed together and results in a fat that is solid at room temperature.
• Unsaturated fats have fatty acid tails that have carbons with double bonds, which results in less hydrogens and fatty acid tails that are bent or have a kink in them. These are fats that are liquid at room temperature.
• Trans fats are fats that have been hydrogenated (hydrogen bubbled into them) to make the fatty acid tails straighter with the double bonds. This solidifies oils for the food industry and results in higher LDL levels, or the bad cholesterol.

Source:

“Saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and trans fats.” YouTube, Uploaded by Kahn Academy, July 14, 2015. https://youtu.be/O9lL2KStW9s