| a type of single-bond animal or vegetable fat, as that found in butter, meat, egg yolks, and coconut or palm oil, that in humans tends to increase cholesterol levels in the blood. Compare saturated (def. 3). |
The kind of fat in which the molecules are arranged so that every valence electron in each of the atoms making up the molecule is used to form a bond with one electron from another atom (called a single bond). Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature and are found in butter, red meat, poultry, and milk products.
Note: A diet high in saturated fats increases the level of cholesterol in the blood. Because of the role cholesterol may play in heart disease, many physicians now recommend that people eat fewer saturated fats.
saturated fat n.
A fat, most often of animal origin, having chains of saturated fatty acids. An excess of these fats in the diet is thought to raise the cholesterol level in the bloodstream.
