Saturated fats are fats that are solid at room temperature and are dervied from most animal products.

More Info: Typically derived from animal food products, saturated fats have a chemical composition in which the carbon atoms are saturated with the hydrogen atoms.

What Foods Contain Saturated Fats?

Saturated fats occur naturally in most animals including meat and dairy products.  Saturated fats are prevalent in any fatty meat, milk, butter, cream, ice cream, and cheese to name a few.  These products also contain cholesterol.  A few foods derived from plant sources also contain saturated fats such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil.

Anything that is prepared using meat or dairy products, such as baked goods, also contains saturated fat.

Why Are Saturated Fats Bad?

Consuming foods that are high in saturated fats raises your blood cholesterol level. High blood cholesterol is medically referred to as a lipid disorder and can lead to a series of complications including atherosclerosis (a thickening and hardening of the arteries as a result of fat deposits on the inner lining), coronary artery disease, stroke, heart attack, or death.

Typically, foods that are high in saturated fats are also high in cholesterol which exacerbates matters even further.

How to Reduce Saturated Fat Intake

A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that replacing dietary saturated fat intake with polyunsaturated fat reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 19%.  Polyunsaturated fat are typically liquid and remain liquid even after being chilled. Polyunsaturated food products include vegetable oils such as soybean oil, safflower oil, and corn oil, and fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, trout, and herring.