Saturated Fat

The fat to keep an eye on — moderation, not elimination.

Updated

What it is

Saturated fat is the fat that's solid at room temperature — the structure of butter, the marbling in beef, the richness of coconut. Your body makes and uses saturated fat itself; the question has only ever been about how much extra arrives on the plate.

How much

Common guidance suggests keeping it under about 10% of daily calories. For most people that's moderation, not exile: the goal is a ceiling to respect while the bulk of your fat budget comes from unsaturated sources. People managing cholesterol with a clinician may be given a stricter number — theirs wins.

How well it's tracked

Well for packaged foods — saturated fat is a standard label line — and reasonably for common generic foods. Expect your total to be trustworthy on label-heavy days and mildly undercounted on home-cooking days.

Too much

The concern is blood lipids: for many people, high saturated intake raises LDL cholesterol, one of the levers of cardiovascular risk. Response varies person to person — which is what bloodwork is for.

Food sources

Butter and cream, fatty cuts of meat, processed meats, cheese, coconut and palm oil, and most pastries and fried snacks (which often bundle it with the fats actually worth avoiding).

In the app

Saturated fat has its Insights card with a chart against its ceiling, contributors per day, and an adjustable goal for anyone working to a prescribed limit.