Saturated and Unsaturated Fats: That’s The Difference

The chemistry of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids

All fats are based on fatty acids and basically, all have the same structure.

• A fat always consists of glycerol and one to three fatty acids, with most of the fats that we eat containing three fatty acids. That is why they are also referred to as triglycerides.
  If you look at fatty acids through the eyes of chemistry, it is always a chain of carbon atoms to which a structure made of one carbon, two oxygen, and one hydrogen atom is also attached.
• The individual carbon atoms are chemically linked, either by single or double bonds. The double bonds are interesting: Depending on the number, fatty acids are then divided into saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
• Saturated fatty acids do not have these double bonds. In the case of unsaturated fatty acids, there is one – then it is a monounsaturated fatty acid – or several double bonds. In this case, one speaks of a polyunsaturated fatty acid.
• Fats are always made up of different fatty acids. So there is no fat that contains only saturated fatty acids.

What do fatty acids do in our bodies?

The double bonds mentioned playing a major role here.

• The number of double bonds is decisive for the reactivity of the fatty acid. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, as we know, have the most double bonds, so they are the most reactive. This is why fats with a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids also go rancid and spoil faster.
• Your body needs this reactiveness of the fatty acids and uses them in many organic processes. This includes, for example, the repair and renewal of cells, but also their regeneration. They also keep the cell membrane flexible and permeable, which is particularly important in the brain in connection with messenger substances.
• To enable your body to do this, your diet should contain sufficient monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids are also often referred to as “good” fatty acids.
• Saturated fats, on the other hand, do not have a good reputation – wrongly so. They serve not only as a source of energy and energy storage. Our body also needs this fat, for example, to fix and protect organs in their intended place. For example, the kidney is held and protected by the fat that surrounds it.
• Individual saturated fats have very specific roles in the body. For example, they are important for hormone metabolism or they are involved in immune metabolism.
• However, some saturated fats, especially medium-chain and short-chain saturated fats, increase total cholesterol and LDL, which in turn can contribute to cardiovascular disease.
• The more saturated fat a fat has, the harder it is. For example, butter contains 73 percent saturated fat, 24 percent monounsaturated fat, and 3 percent polyunsaturated fat. Rapeseed oil, in turn, consists of 6 percent saturated fatty acids, 63 percent monounsaturated fatty acids, and 31 percent polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Essential fats for the body

Essential fatty acids are fatty acids that the body needs but cannot produce themselves. They must therefore be supplied through food.

• The best-known representatives are certainly the omega fatty acids, which include linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
  Of the omega fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids are probably the most common.
• Omega-3 fatty acids are found in all body cells. They improve the signal transmission of the nerve cells in the brain and reduce fat formation.
• Omega-6 fatty acids, on the other hand, ensure the formation of fatty tissue and thus the expansion of energy storage.
• Both fatty acids are important and healthy, but inhibit each other’s effects. It is therefore important to have the right ratio of intake of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids: Nutrition experts recommend a ratio of 1:2-5.
• Omega-3 fatty acids are found in high concentrations in many vegetable oils and in oily fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, and walnuts.
• Vegetable oils are also high in omega-6 fatty acids. In addition to sunflower oil and sesame oil, this also includes wheat germ oil. The Brazil nut also contains large amounts of this essential fatty acid.