Food Data Chart - Saturated and Poly-unsaturated Fat



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9: SATURATED AND POLY-UNSATURATED FAT:

There are several types of fats, the chief ones being called triglycerides, cholesterol esters, and phospholipids. They contain fatty acids, which may be saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

Some polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential for humans because they cannot be made in our bodies. One group of essential fatty acids comes from plant sources; these fatty acids are found in considerable quantity in polyunsaturated margarine and in vegetable oils. We need about 1 to 2 per cent of our energy to come from this type of fatty acid, although a higher intake, up to about 10 per cent of energy, may be protective against coronary heart disease. The requirements of another type of essential fatty acid have not been worked out, but they are obtained mainly from seafood and, in a different way, seem protective against coronary heart disease - they reduce the 'stickiness' of the blood. Both kinds of essential fatty acids can lower high levels of blood fats.

Saturated fatty acids come chiefly from ruminant animals, such as sheep and cattle, and from milk and dairy products of these animals. In the stomachs of ruminants the polyunsaturated fatty acids that are present in fodder are broken down to a large extent to saturated fatty acids so that the fatty tissues of animals such as cattle are mostly saturated. On the other hand, animals with a single stomach (monogastric) absorb the range of fatty acids, saturated and polyunsaturated, present in the diet. Pigs and humans are similar in this respect. Furthermore, domesticated animals have more carcass fat than wild animals so that the advent of animal production for human consumption has led to a great increase in the consumption of saturated fat.

Saturated fat increases the amount of cholesterol in blood. Monounsaturated fat does not increase the blood cholesterol level and may decrease it (olive oil and peanut oil provide monounsaturated fat). Polyunsaturated fat decreases it. Traditional cultures that use olive oil in food preparation or a lot of groundnuts (peanuts) have little coronary heart disease. Cholesterol in food increases the level of cholesterol in blood.

Saturated fat also increases the amount of triglyceride in the blood. Both blood cholesterol and blood triglyceride, when elevated, increase the risk of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), with consequent coronary heart disease.

The desirable ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat in the diet is:
1 : 1 (i.e. 50 : 50).

SPECIAL POLYUNSATURATED PRODUCTS

Some novel food products have been developed to decrease the saturated and increase the polyunsaturated fat of the total diet. Foods traditionally high in saturated fat, such as icecream made with milkfat, are now available made from polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

Dairy and beef cattle have been fed polyunsaturated fat protected from digestive breakdown so that the dairy and beef products are more polyunsaturated. Eggs have also had the yolk, rich in cholesterol, removed and replaced with a polyunsaturated oil substitute -- hence 'polyunsaturated egg mix', with the main advantage being a low cholesterol content.

SATURATED AND POLYUNSATURATED FAT IN MARGARINE AND VEGETABLE OILS

Approximate amounts of saturated and polyunsaturated fat in different types of margarine are shown in Figure 47, and the amounts in different vegetable oils are shown in Figure 48.


	Important Basics
	-	Energy
	-	Water
	-	Dietary Fibre
	-	Protein
	-	Phenylalanine
	-	Carbohydyrate
	-	Fat
	-	Cholesterol
		Saturated and Unsaturated Fat
	-	Alcohol

Also on this page:
-  Desirable ratio
-  Special products
-  Fats in margarine/oils
-  Figure 47: Margarines
-  Figure 48: Oils

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FIGURE 47:

APPROXIMATE AMOUNTS OF SATURATED AND POLYUNSATURATED FAT IN MARGARINES

TYPE OF MARGARINE	SATURATED FAT	POLYUNSATURATED FAT
	(grams per 100 grams of margarine)

Hard (animal and vegetable oils)	30	14
Hard (vegetable oils only)	30	10
Soft (animal and vegetable oils)	25	16
Soft (vegetable oils only)	26	18
Polyunsaturated	19	60

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FIGURE 48:

APPROXIMATE AMOUNTS OF SATURATED AND POLYUNSATURATED FAT IN DIFFERENT VEGETABLE OILS

TYPE OF OIL	SATURATED FAT	POLYUNSATURATED FAT
	(grams per 100 grams of oil)

Coconut oil	85	2
Maize oil	16	49
Olive oil	14	11
Palm oil	45	8
Peanut oil	19	29
Safflower oil	10	72
Soya bean oil	14	57
Sunflower oil	13	50