Saturated fats - as evil as they are made out?

Saturated as in trans fats? I think those are pretty bad for you. Not only that but the foods they are featured in are usually pretty bad too. Chips, fries etc.... Probably not a game changer unless you eat alot of it. Which I don't think you do

Transfats are not saturated fats. There is an article on wikipedia about both saturated and transfats. I think as long as most of it is coming from lean protein sources you are not doing yourself a disservice.

I think those have good fats. I personally don't worry about them Your body needs some fats to operate normally. They might up your choloesteral levels but it should only elevate the good number and not the bad number.

Unless you have a high choloresteral level right now?

My sis in law is off most meats and dairy in an attempt to lower here choloresteral levels and she's done it. But her number was well over 200.

Saturation is one way of classifying fats. The other method is based on molecular size or length of the carbon chain in the fatty acid. You have short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium-chain fatty acids(MCFA), and long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Another term you will often see in reference to fatty acids is triglyceride. Three fatty acids joined together make a triglyceride, so you may have short-chain triglycerides (SCT), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), or long-chain triglycerides (LCT).

The vast majority of the fats and oils you eat, whether they are saturated or unsaturated or come from an animal or a plant, are composed of long-chain triglycerides. Probably 98 to 100% of all the fats we eat consist of LCT. Food scientists have long noted the nutritional benefits of medium-chain triglycerides. MCT from coconut oil are used in hospital formulas to feed the very young, the critically ill, and those who have digestive problems. It makes up a vital part of the solutions fed to patients intravenously or through a tube inserted down the throat.

For at least five decades researchers have recognized that the MCT were digested differently than other fats. This difference has had important applications in the treatment of many digestive and metabolic health conditions and since that time MCT have been routinely used in hospital and baby formulas.

The digestive health advantages of MCT) over LCT are due to the differences in the way our bodies metabolize these fats. Because the MCT molecules are smaller, they require less energy and fewer enzymes to break them down for digestion. They are digested and absorbed quickly and with minimal effort.

Pigs fed vegetable oil feed gained weight but those who were fed cocounut oil (a saturated fat) actually lost weight. There's a lot of research out there. Here's a good article: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article10612.htm

From what I read, saturated fats and dietary cholesterol have pretty much been exonerated as the cause of cardiovascular disease, and may even be good for you. While saturated fat does raise cholesterol somewhat, it raises both the good HDL and bad LDL, and improves the LDL from small and dense to large and buoyant. I don't have my source in front of me right now, but IIRC, the fat in, say, a steak, breaks down to 49% monounsaturated fat (oleic acid, the same as in olive oil). Part of the remaining fat is stearic acid, the same "good fat" that's in dark chocolate.

Man-made trans fats, OTOH, are horrible and should be avoided.

Well, I'm no food scientist but so far I've learned that it all depends on what sources the fats are coming from. Lean protein, dairy, butters and oil (peanut butter and olive oil )and other natural sources are fine by me. Its the processed food that contains saturated fat is what I try hard to avoid.

Breast milk is 50-60% saturated fat and is the preferred source of feeding a baby.

Something to think about.........

Also, every living thing (yes, including plants) contains saturated fats, even at very minute levels. That should tell people the importance saturated fats play in our health and well being.

I had a chart that showed how much saturated fats are in different vegetables. However, it is small amounts, but still present.

Here goes my explain,( it's been a little while since I studied these.);

There is a general positive relationship between saturated fats and Cardiovascular disease (CVD) as serum cholesterol levels rise as increase high density lipo-proteins and low density-proteins decrease, as a general rule for you HDL is "good"(takes cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver) and LDL is "bad"( can build on your arteries and can narrow them making them less flexible this is called atherosclerosis I think), so I hear you ask but if there is HDL "good" in there why is it bad for me?
The answer is that generically there will be a higher ratio or LDL to HDL in saturated fat.

But remember both LDL and HDL are related to the steroid cholesterol and a level too high of either is not good for your arteries.

Balance is the key.

(sorry for my bad English today, I have been writing in Spanish for most of the day.)

Here's something from Primal Body, Primal Mind:

The Need for Steady Fuel: Where fueling the fire of our brain and body's metabolism is concerned, carbohydrates can best be described as kindling. Whole grains and legumes are somewhat like twigs; starch, such as cereals and potatoes, and simple sugars are like paper on the fire; and alcohol might best be described as gasoline on the fire. If you're relying on carbohydrates as your primary source of fuel, you need to feed that fire often, regularly, and consistently. You will be craving that fuel. Unfortunately, most people today have forcibly adapted their bodies to this sort of an unnatural dependence by over-consuming carbohydrates in their diet. (Most - if not all alcoholics have - for instance - severe issues with dysglycemia and sugar addiction. Alcoholics are dependent on and regularly seek fast sources of sugar - alcohol being the fastest...because the problem in alcoholism, in fact, isn't really alcohol, per se, but severe carbohydrate addiction (this is interesting to me because most people I know that have completely stopped drinking develop sweet tooths.)...One might get a burst or a ball of flame with respect to energy from many carbohydrate sources, but no one can get long-term, sustainable energy. As soon as the flame starts to die out, which doesn't take long, you're stuck with cravings for fuel or stimulants again. It can be quite a roller coaster ride. This is why dome dietary experts are always telling you to eat every two hours or to eat "numerous small meals throughout the day". If you're sugar dependent - and almost everyone in this culture is victim to that unnecessary reality - then frequent small meals become necessary to maintain an even keel. If you have ever heated your home with a wood stove using paper, twigs and lighter fluid all day, you'd be a slave to that fire and you'd need a mountain of fuel to constantly feed that hungry beast. You'd be forever preoccupied with keeping that fire going, and you'd have little other life...Nature would never have intended for us to constantly live this way. It is a terribly impractical state to maintain, particularly if you view this from the primitive perspective of ongoing survival in a less certain world where food wasn't constantly available. Our primitive (particularly ice-age) ancestors would never have made it this far if carbohydrates were essential to the diet or if glucose were necessary as a primary source of energy. Nature isn't that crazy or stupid...Mind you, it is possible to live in a state of primary glucose dependence. The idea that we are necessarily dependent on sugar as our primary source of fuel is true only conditionally, only if we've metabolically adapted ourselves to that unnatural dependence....It isn't necessary at all and it will age you faster (and cost you much more in grocery bills and health care). Dietary fat, in the absence of carbohydrates, is like putting a nice big log on the fire. Fat's flame burns as a regular, even rate, and is easily dept going, Protein, consumed in moderate quantities, is mainly diverted toward repair and maintenance. Only in excess does it convert to sugar. Fat's even flame keeps the hormone leptin under control, keeps insulin quiet, and keeps our appetite satisfied...One can go many, many hours on this longer-burning type of fuel without experiencing any discomfort or cravings at all. You may eventually get hungry if you really go a long time without eating, which is normal, bu you are far less likely to experience irritability, dizziness, brain fog, cravings, fatigue, jitteriness, or mood swings because of it. That's the way it's supposed to be!

I am no longer a sugar burner. I am a fat burner. Obesity doesn't come from eating too much fat. It comes from eating too many carbs (mainly refined but I don't touch whole grain or legumes either) which keeps your body from burning fat. How can it when it has to burn sugar every few hours?