Trans Fat Vs Saturated Fat

Fats, in all conditions, are regarded as the “bad guys”. They are flooded with calories, add kilos on your hips, clog your arteries, and best of all, never taste good. But surprisingly, food wouldn’t taste the way it does, had it not been for some amount of fat. Thus, to differentiate them, you have good fats and bad fats, allowing you to have fats that enhance your health or at least, do not have an adverse affect on you. Unfortunately, both trans fats and saturated fats fall under the category of unhealthy fats that can lead to various health risks. But do not assume them to be negative on the same aspects, as they differentiate in some parameters. Discover the differences between trans fat and saturated fat in the following text. Take a look!

Difference Between Trans Fat And Saturated Fat

Saturated fats are found in animal products, such as meat, eggs, seafood, butter, solid shortening, cheese, lard, whole milk, red meat, chocolate, and other dairy foods. They also come from some plant-based food products, like coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils. As such, saturated fats occur naturally in foods and our bodies also. On the contrary, trans fats are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils found in food ingredients, such as shortening and margarine; baked goods like crackers, cereals, cookies; deep-fat fried foods like donuts; and other foods to add flavor and lengthen their expiration date. Thus, unlike saturated fats, trans fats do not occur naturally neither in foods nor in our bodies.
While both fats are unhealthy foods to opt for, but they affect the body in different ways. On one hand, saturated fats are said to increase good cholesterol levels (high-density lipoproteins or HDLs), trans fats, conversely, lower these good cholesterol levels.
Since both saturated fats and trans fats are believed to increase bad cholesterol levels (low-density lipoproteins or LDLs), trans fats are more dangerous for our bodies. They reduce HDLs and increase LDLs, increasing the risks of artery hardening and narrowing, and inducing heart diseases.
While saturated fats are ineffective to insulin levels, trans fats badly affect diabetic people by preventing insulin from blending with the blood.
Saturated fats are crucial for supporting the immune system and fighting against bacteria, viruses, and protozoa in our bodies, but trans fats interfere with the functioning of the immune system, weakening it in due course, thereby increasing your chances of contracting more infections and illnesses.
Since saturated fats occur naturally in our bodies, they do not harm the enzymes, which trans fats reduce significantly. This, in turn, brings about a negative effect on our body’s metabolism.
While saturated fat is the ultimate natural villain, trans fat is the most crucial man-made monster. Saturated fat is responsible for inducing life threatening conditions, such as heart disease, strokes, cancer, and obesity. Trans fat, on the other hand, causes hardening of arteries in the brain, stopping of nerve impulses, and increase in cholesterol levels.

Though saturated fat is comparatively a little milder than trans fat, it is best to avoid both of them for a healthy and long-lasting life.

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