What are the effects of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids on our health?
What are the effects of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids on our health? Fat is needed for the body in order to store energy, make up cell membranes and protect delicate organs, but there are some fats which could, in reverse, harm the body. Fats provide a source of energy as well as the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat transports these nutrients around the body. The two main types of fats
are saturated and unsaturated fats. The fats that people eat affect how their health is, especially risks or heart diseases. A diet which is high in saturated fats would raise the blood cholesterol; therefore fatty deposits are built up in the arteries. This causes atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and higher cholesterol level which can damage the artery walls. Saturated fats may also cause stroke and certain cancers. Altogether, this could cause atherosclerosis. Saturated fats contain low density lipoproteins (LDLs), which is especially higher if more saturated fats are consumed. This causes more cholesterol to be transported into the blood stream, ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
are saturated and unsaturated fats. The fats that people eat affect how their health is, especially risks or heart diseases. A diet which is high in saturated fats would raise the blood cholesterol; therefore fatty deposits are built up in the arteries. This causes atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and higher cholesterol level which can damage the artery walls. Saturated fats may also cause stroke and certain cancers. Altogether, this could cause atherosclerosis. Saturated fats contain low density lipoproteins (LDLs), which is especially higher if more saturated fats are consumed. This causes more cholesterol to be transported into the blood stream, increasing the total of blood cholesterol, and increasing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The foods that mostly contain saturated fats are dairy products, animal fats, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, palm kernel oil, chocolate and some prepared foods. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. Sometimes when saturated fats are labeled in foods, they are named in different ways- such as lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic acid. Lauric and myristic acid is mostly found in coconut oil. Palmitic acid is commonly found in dark chocolate, salmon, butter, eggs, beef meat, cashews, soybean oil and coconut oil. Products containing stearic acid are dark chocolate, beef meat, butter and eggs. All the listed foods contain a high percentage of saturated fatty acids. In comparison, unsaturated fatty acids are much healthier for our body. Eating more unsaturated fats makes the level of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) higher, which transports cholesterol from the body tissue to the liver where it is used up or recycled. Therefore, this reduces the blood cholesterol, when the level is too high. This decreases the risk of CHD and high blood pressure. Mostly, unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and they can’t be produced from the body, only gotten from food products. Some good sources of unsaturated fats are contained in avocado, seeds, fish and unsalted nuts.
