Is saturated fat uniquely used for anything in the human body? I know saturated fat helps some hormones develop, but is there anything else?
Can anyone here tell me what saturated fat does for the body that other fats cannot do? Are there certain acids the body needs that can ONLY be found in saturated fats? This is a re-ask because I deleted the other question along the same lines.
Saturated fatty acids are absolutely essential to sustaining life. They are responsible for hormone production, organ padding, energy optimization, and are needed for important signaling and stabilization processes within the body. Saturated fat also makes up about 50% or more of cell membranes which is what allows cells to achieve the right fluidity often referred to as the “fluid mosaic”.
Yes we can synthesize small amounts of saturated fats from carbohydrates but research is showing that it May not be enough for all the processes in the Body it is needed for. If you want optimal health, hormone production, and cognitive function then it would be wise to include some sort of saturated fats in the diet.
‘Without entering this interesting epidemiological debate on the deleterious effects of some of saturated fatty acids, it seems that they [saturated fatty acids - SFA] can be no longer considered as a single group in terms of structure, metabolism and cellular function. …
Apart from the dietary sources, it is well known that the body is capable of synthesizing SFA. Because of their multiple potential origins, it has been difficult to quantify the real importance of dietary SFA when compared with endogenous SFA’
The Complex and Important Cellular and Metabolic Functions of Saturated Fatty Acids
The only essential fats are polyunsaturated fats as the body cannot produce them and can only derive them from food (or supplementation). Saturated fat like any other fat is used as a source of energy but it doesn’t provide anything that unsaturated fats don’t.Your focus when it comes to fat should be poly and monounsaturated fat as these are shown to lower cvd risk.
It is mainly used for energy and energy storage. Animal fat is rich in saturated fats and it stands to reason our own is much the same way and the least amount of processes would be required to store a fat similar to our own.
To be clear, pretty much every fat source has some amount of saturated fat. So, even if you only consume plant oils, at least 10% if not more of that is Saturated fat. And I also just want to debunk one thing Andrew Huberman said. He claimed you need saturated fat and cholesterol for brain health. But the fact is that neither of those molecules penetrate the blood brain barrier. The only things that do are glucose and ketones.
The body manufactures any saturated fat it needs. It actually does use quite a lot of it, especially if you have poor diet - Because your own body fat is mostly saturated fat.
Basically, no, don’t worry about needing saturated fat in your diet. Your body will make any saturated fats it needs from whatever calories, and you can’t feasibly have an actual somewhat healthy diet with no saturated fat whatsoever anyway.
From my understanding, fatty acids are used in similar ways, whether poly, mono or saturated. But the quality of the fatty acid and the length makes a significant difference. Saturated fats are the least oxidized fatty acid prior to consumption, it’s a very stable fat. Monounsaturated fats are the second most stable fatty acid with only one open link in the chain, (see medium chain triglycerides and long chain tryglycerides) which is why it’s called monounsaturated. Polyunsaturated fats are the most oxidized fatty acid prior to consumption, with several open links in the fatty acid chain. That early oxidation could potentially lead to increased inflammation after consumption.
Saturated fats get a bad rep because they don’t play nice with high carbohydrate consumption, while MUFAs are relatively neutral in that regard.
Medium chain triglycerides are the most optimal for faster energy conversion, but long chain triglycerides are overwhelmingly the most common type of triglyceride found in our foods. MCT is only found in abundance in coconut, human breast milk and dairy products.