by jaybob

Created on: September 28, 2008   Last Updated: October 06, 2008

Fats have come to become major players in the North American diet. They are the naturally (and artificially) occurring essential (and non-essential) fatty-acids that give much of our food the texture and flavor that we enjoy. Fats are what give milk the essential nutrients that babies need to grow healthy and strong. Fats are also what gives butter and oil their taste, and hamburgers their "sizzle." Unfortunately, the energy or calories found in Saturated fats' and the artificially produced Trans fats' can increase far more than the chances of becoming obese; namely many different kinds of cancer, diabetes, and cholesterol related circulatory diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke. Because fats are found so prevalently in the North American diet, it suddenly becomes apparent just how important it is for us to understand the differences between the fats we consume in our food: saturated, unsaturated, and trans fats.

Fats at the Molecular Level

Firstly, to understand what a fatty-acid is, and the difference between saturated, unsaturated and trans fats, you'll have to have a general understanding of what a fatty-acid actually "looks" like. Try to picture a chain in your mind. This chain is made of carbon molecules, and attached to each carbon link is a hydrogen molecule (energy or calories) two to each link. This chain would be the fatty-acid molecule of a Saturated fat': containing many molecules of hydrogen and lots of calories. An unsaturated fat' molecule has fewer hydrogen molecules (and therefore less calories) because the odd chain link of carbon will only have one hydrogen attached to it. A trans fat' is a man made wild card produced by taking an unsaturated fatty-acid and subjecting it to a process called "hydrogenation." As it may sound, hydrogenation adds more hydrogen molecules to the chain so that the fat will solidify at room temperature, but also consequently have many more calories.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are the fatty-acids found in foods such as dairy and meats. While some variations of these foods have greater and fewer percentages of saturated fats (e.g. butter having much more saturated fats than skim milk, and a hamburger having significantly more saturated fats than a lean chicken breast.), meat and dairy are the most readily available naturally occurring sources of saturated fats. Though ideal for the developing body of a young child, saturated fats and their calories consumed in large quantities can be problematic for

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