The Truth About Saturated Fats And Your Body

We all did a quick happy dance when news broke that saturated fats may not be so bad after all. The idea of freely eating steak, butter, and cheese whenever we want without risking our health sounded too good to be true, right? Well, experts still can't agree on whether or not it actually is.

While recent controversial research suggests we can eat it to our, ahem, heart's content, the most recent Dietary Guidelines still recommend limiting saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of your daily diet. The American Heart Association says 5 to 6 percent max. OK, so what gives?

If you're wondering if you need to cut back, or if you can truly have your burger and eat it too, here are the details you need to know about what’s going on in your body when you eat saturated fat.

Then, once in the stomach, fat mixes with enzymes and bile, which break it down into different components before sending it off to the small intestine, explains Kim Larson, R.D.N., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and owner of Total Health, a nutrition, fitness, and health coaching company in Seattle, Washington.

“Small molecules are absorbed directly into the bloodstream while the two larger molecules (long-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides) are transported into intestinal cells, where they’re reassembled into a storage form of fat called triglycerides,” says Caroline Kaufman, R.D.N. Triglycerides circulate through the bloodstream, and some cells that need fuel will take them up for energy. “If they don’t need any more energy (you ate more calories than you can burn), the triglycerides are stored in adipose tissue.”

Quick chemistry lesson: Saturated fats are made up of fatty acid chains that are saturated with hydrogen molecules (hence the name). Their structure makes it so that many chains can line up with very little space between them. Because the saturated fat molecules are so tightly packed together, they’re harder for our bodies to break down. (They also have a higher melting point, which is why they’re solid at room temperature. Think: coconut oil and butter.) Unsaturated fats, on the other hand, have double bonds that saturated fats don’t have. This gives them a kinkier shape, so they don’t pack together nearly as well. The gaps between molecules make their bonds easier to break.

High LDL cholesterol can clog the arteries over time, which leads to heart disease and stroke. “LDL cholesterol can get lodged in your blood vessel walls, causing an inflammatory process that leads to an accumulation of plaque—hard, raised lesions that narrow your blood vessels,” Kaufman explains. Over time, this can limit the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout your body, and if the plaque breaks off an artery wall, it can cause a blood clot. This is what leads to a stroke or heart attack, two health dangers we’ve blamed on saturated fats.

A hotly debated March 2014 study found that in addition to raising LDL cholesterol, saturated fat may also raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and lower triglyceride levels, which are associated with higher heart disease risk. This had led some cardiology experts to conclude that these effects may cancel each other out, making saturated fat rather neutral—not the villain it’s been made out to be.

Most dieticians (and even the U.S. government) still recommend limiting saturated fats and opting for healthier unsaturated fats instead. “Studies show strong health benefits from mono and polyunsaturated fats," Larson says, such as stabilizing blood sugar levels, lowering blood pressure, and even controlling appetite and contributing to weight loss. "We have no studies that show ANY health benefits from saturated fats."

Even when it comes to avocados, nuts, and other healthy fats, you can definitely have too much of a good thing. “All fats, including saturated fats, have 9 calories per gram,” Larson reminds us. “So those calories add up in a very tiny amount. Be mindful of your mouthful!”

Other recent nutrition research suggests that eating more refined carbohydrates (like corn syrup) and other forms of added sugar has a bigger impact on cholesterol levels and overall heart health than fat. “The best thing to do is to replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (nuts, olive oil, fish, seeds, avocado)—not carbohydrates," Larson suggests.

“Based on decades of studies proving they increase the risk of heart disease, leading health organizations don’t want people deep-frying bacon-wrapped fried chicken any time soon,” Kaufman says. For now, stick with the American Heart Association’s recommendations to replace saturated fats with unsaturated ones.

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