What's the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats ?

Question

What's the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats ?

Answer 1

It's just like having brown sugar and white. But there's no colour involved in fat. But lets's see what they say up top and below.

Answer 2

saturated is saturated with hydrogen while unsaturated is not saturated with hydrogen

Answer 3

There are two types of fat to be aware of. Saturated fats - let's call them "the enemy" and unsaturated fats - "the good guys"! It is easy to tell the difference because saturated fats are hard at room temperature. Saturated fats are not essential to your health. They come from animals and are found in meat, eggs and cheese. They are harder to digest and full of cholesterol.

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and have been divided into two groups. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, and polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower oil.

Polyunsaturated fats are split into Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6 fatty acids. Monounsaturated fat (Omega 9) although not essential, is not harmful in moderation - a good quality (extra virgin first cold pressed) olive oil is a healthier alternative to the usual vegetable oil.

Good sources of Omega 6 are safflower oil, sunflower oil, evening primrose oil, walnut oil, pumpkin oil, and sesame oil.

Good sources of Omega 3 are mackerel, herring, salmon, pilchards, sardines, tuna and flax seed oil.

weight.

Most foods containing fat combine saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat in varying quantities. For instance, butter's fat content is almost 100%, of which 60% is saturated, 30% monounsaturated and 10% polyunsaturated, compared with sunflower seeds' fat content of 73%, of which just 12% is saturated and 21% monounsaturated and 67% is polyunsaturated.

Answer 4

The difference between saturated and unsaturated fat is just chemistry. Saturated fats are saturated with hydrogen atoms, that's the difference. So what does that mean to you? Not a whole lot. LOL.

But it is good to know what is healthy and what isn't. Some saturated fats are ok for you. Like the fats found in dairy etc. You should also know that saturated fats are only found in animal products. But there is no reason to fear them, as long as you aren't eating a ton of them.

Unsaturated fats are still just as high in calories (9 cal per gram) and in excess are just as bad for your health.

The worst, in my opinion, are hydrogenated fats. These are unsaturated fats that are made saturated by human processing. This process prevents things (like peanut butter) from separating, but it is really unhealthy.

hope this clarified things for you a bit!

Answer 5

saturated= bad for you

Answer 6

It has to do with hydrogen atoms on each carbon in the triglyceride (fat).

If each carbon has the max number of hydrogen atoms attached, it's saturated.  If not, it's unsaturated.  Unsaturated has single and double bonds, white saturated only has single.

Answer 7

While both unsaturated fat and saturated fat are in a variety of foods, studies have found that these fats are not created equally. Unsaturated fats can be beneficial to your heart, whereas saturated fats could be detrimental to your cholesterol and your heart.

Saturated fats are found in animal products and processed foods, such as meats, dairy products, chips, and pastries. The chemical structure of a saturated fat is fully saturated with hydrogen atoms, and does not contain double bonds between carbon atoms. Saturated fats are not heart healthy, since they are most known for raising your LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol).

Unsaturated fats, on the other hand, are found foods such as nuts, avocados, and olives. They are liquid at room temperature and differ from saturated fats in that their chemical structure contains double bonds. Additionally, studies have shown that unsaturated fats are also heart-healthy fats - they have the ability to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).

Answer 8

Saturated fatty acids are fully HYDROGENATED, and thus have no Carbon-Carbon double or triple bonds.  They tend to have lower MELTING POINTS than unsaturated fats, and can be solid at room temperature, as seen in the marbling of meat.  Saturated fats tend to be more common in animal products, as opposed to vegetarian cuisine.

Unsaturated fats have at least one Carbon-Carbon double or triple bond.  Unsaturated fats can be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.  MONOUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS, such as oleic acid (18:1 n−9, an OMEGA-9 FATTY ACID) and palmitoleic acid (16:1 n−7), which have only one Carbon-Carbon double bond per molecule, appear to reduce LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS (LDLs) and increase HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS (HDLs).  They are prevalent in OLIVE OIL (75%), CANOLA OIL (57%–60%), nuts, and avocados.  POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS, which have more than one Carbon-Carbon double bond, can be found in a variety of fish and vegetables, including peanut, sunflower, and hemp seed oils.

Unsaturated fats include the ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS, which are nutritionally required, because they cannot be directly synthesized by your body.  There are two families of essential fatty acids:  the OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS and the OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS.  The simplest Omega-3 fatty acid is alpha-LINOLENIC acid (C18H30O2, aka. cis, cis,cis-9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid), which has three carbon-carbon double bonds and a melting point of -11 degrees Centigrade.  The simplest Omega-6 fatty acid is LINOLEIC acid (C18H32O2, aka. cis, cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid), which has two carbon-carbon double bonds and a melting point of -5 degrees Centigrade.

The best sources of alpha-linolenic acid are chia sage (64%), kiwifruit (62%), and flaxseed (55%).  The highest concentrations of linoleic acid are found in safflower oil (78%), poppy seed oil (70%), hemp oil (50-70%), walnut oil, grass fed cow milk, olive oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, and soybean.

Cold water FISH OILS (salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, mackerel) are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Dietary minimization of saturated fats in favor of unsaturated fats is beneficial to health, particularly in reducing CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE and INSULIN RESISTANCE, in part because of reduced LDLs and enhanced HDLs.

Answer 9

Saturated fats have a single bond between the carbons in a fatty acid while an unsaturated has double or triple bonds between the carbons and fatty acid...

saturated fat: EX: animal fat or palm oil etc

unsaturated fat: EX: veggie oil, peanut, fish etc

Answer 10

Something to do with the hydrocarbon bonds...

Answer 11

saturated is complete (Full) fat and unsaturated is not 100% fattening which means it contains other ingredients that are not fat.  

Answer 12

uhmm...

im nawt sure,

tihnk its like...

one is salted/spices etc and one is un salted or sumptin...