Part IV: Saturated fatty acids
Saturated fatty acids are those that should not predominate in our diet. How harmful are they and where can we find them?
Saturated fatty acids are those that do not have any double bonds in their chemical structure. We can often see them under the abbreviation SFA (saturated fatty acids). These are the fatty acids that, if they predominate in the fats in the diet, have a negative effect on our health.
Not all of them are bad, but it is generally advisable to limit their consumption.
Excessive amounts of them in the diet can increase blood cholesterol levels, the pro-inflammatory state of the organism and have other negative effects, especially on our cardiovascular system. Therefore, limiting them is also part of expert recommendations. They state that saturated fatty acids should not make up more than 10% of total daily energy. In practice, this means an amount of about 20-25 g per day (depending on how much energy our diet contains).
Simply put, we can say that fats that contain a lot of saturated fatty acids are solid under normal conditions. A rich source of saturated fatty acids are therefore animal fats (butter, lard) and tropical fats (mainly coconut, palm kernel). We can also find them in so-called hidden fats, hidden in foods - sausages and other meat products, in fatty meat and in very fatty dairy products. Tropical fats are found mainly in soft and durable pastries (products made from puff and Danish pastry, biscuits, wafers), even more so in those with toppings or fillings, but also in plant-based dairy substitutes.
SATURATED FATTY ACIDS CAN BE FOUND ON FOOD PACKAGING.
Finding foods with a higher content of saturated fatty acids is relatively easy. The fat content in the product and the proportion of saturated fatty acids are mandatory data that can be found on food packaging and products in the nutritional values table. So, all you need to do is compare several products in one category (e.g. ham, biscuits, cheese, etc.) and choose the one with a lower content of saturated fatty acids. In general, we can say that from a nutritional and health perspective, products that contain saturated fatty acids (SFA) up to one third of all fats are more beneficial. Of course, the size of the package also depends on this, which is something to pay attention to. Nutritional information is always given per 100 g/100 ml, but the size of the portion or package can be completely different.
The series was prepared for us by Věra Boháčová, DiS., who is an expert in the field of nutritional counseling. She graduated as a certified nutritional therapist at a higher medical school and has been engaged in nutritional counseling for adults and children for more than 20 years. She also works as a lecturer at a private higher medical school, where she works with future nutritional therapists. You can read about her work on her website.
Saturated fatty acids are those that do not have any double bonds in their chemical structure. We can often see them under the abbreviation SFA (saturated fatty acids). These are the fatty acids that, if they predominate in the fats in the diet, have a negative effect on our health.
Not all of them are bad, but it is generally advisable to limit their consumption.
Excessive amounts of them in the diet can increase blood cholesterol levels, the pro-inflammatory state of the organism and have other negative effects, especially on our cardiovascular system. Therefore, limiting them is also part of expert recommendations. They state that saturated fatty acids should not make up more than 10% of total daily energy. In practice, this means an amount of about 20-25 g per day (depending on how much energy our diet contains).
Simply put, we can say that fats that contain a lot of saturated fatty acids are solid under normal conditions. A rich source of saturated fatty acids are therefore animal fats (butter, lard) and tropical fats (mainly coconut, palm kernel). We can also find them in so-called hidden fats, hidden in foods - sausages and other meat products, in fatty meat and in very fatty dairy products. Tropical fats are found mainly in soft and durable pastries (products made from puff and Danish pastry, biscuits, wafers), even more so in those with toppings or fillings, but also in plant-based dairy substitutes.
SATURATED FATTY ACIDS CAN BE FOUND ON FOOD PACKAGING.
Finding foods with a higher content of saturated fatty acids is relatively easy. The fat content in the product and the proportion of saturated fatty acids are mandatory data that can be found on food packaging and products in the nutritional values table. So, all you need to do is compare several products in one category (e.g. ham, biscuits, cheese, etc.) and choose the one with a lower content of saturated fatty acids. In general, we can say that from a nutritional and health perspective, products that contain saturated fatty acids (SFA) up to one third of all fats are more beneficial. Of course, the size of the package also depends on this, which is something to pay attention to. Nutritional information is always given per 100 g/100 ml, but the size of the portion or package can be completely different.
The series was prepared for us by Věra Boháčová, DiS., who is an expert in the field of nutritional counseling. She graduated as a certified nutritional therapist at a higher medical school and has been engaged in nutritional counseling for adults and children for more than 20 years. She also works as a lecturer at a private higher medical school, where she works with future nutritional therapists. You can read about her work on her website.
