by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: August 06, 2007

The chemical difference between saturated and unsaturated fats comes down simply to the relationship between the carbon atoms in the fatty acid chain. Those fats which have no double bonds between the carbon atoms have in their place hydrogen atoms which are said to "saturate" the fat. Such fats are usually in a solid state at room temperature. Where one double bond is formed between the carbon atoms, the fat is classed as being "monounsaturated" and where two or more bonds replace the hydrogen altogether, the fat is said to be "polyunsaturated." It is possible to hydrogenate an unsaturated fat to make it saturated and dehydrogenate a saturated fat to make it unsaturated.

Saturated fats are found chiefly in meat and dairy products but by no means exclusively. They are also predominantly present in cakes and pastries, coconuts, coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter. These are the type of fats believed to be the chief culprit in raising the level of LDLs, or "bad" cholesterol, in our bodies and our intake of them should be strictly limited as much as is possible.

Unsaturated fats are most common in vegetables and plant oils such as sesame, olive and sunflower oils, avocados and nuts, but are also found in oily fish such as salmon and mackerel.

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