Are Vegan Sources of Saturated Fat Good or Bad for Your Health?

Have you ever wondered if vegan sources of saturated fat are good or bad for your health? Most people have heard about the negatives you receive with regular sources of saturated fats, but you might wonder as I did if vegan sources of saturated fats would be bad for your health. Keep reading as we explore this topic to give you a better idea about saturated fats in vegan sources and how it may impact your health.

Are Vegan Sources of Saturated Fat Good or Bad for Your Health?

One study done on palm oil and saturated fats found that palm oil in particular could potentially reduce the risk of ischemia reperfusion injury, according to a study done by the World Journal of Cardiology (1). Other studies were done that recorded the same results. 

One thing to be aware of that many people do is they often reheat the oil several times, and no study has confirmed if this is bad. Even with positive results, you may still want to exercise caution when consuming saturated fats regardless of the source to be safe. 

Coconut oil is an example of a vegan source with 82% of its fat content being saturated. There are 87 grams of saturated fat in coconut oil. Another example is palm oil where it has 49 grams of saturated fats with 50% of its fat content being saturated. While coconut oil is higher in saturated fat, however, it tends to be better for the environment compared to palm oil. 

One thing to remember is that the nutrients from the diet also play a role along with the saturated fats. Normally, a diet of whole foods has better health outcomes, even those who consume saturated fats from vegan sources.

Vegan-Based Sources vs Meat-Based Sources of Saturated Fats 

The American Heart Association (3) recommends that you only consume saturated fats as 6% of your total diet in calories. That would mean that if you consume 2,000 calories per day, only 120 calories should come from saturated fats, or only 13 grams of saturated fats daily. 

To be clear, you do need some saturated fat in your diet because it matters for your health. For those who had a diet low in saturated fats, they reported more cases of depression, memory loss, fatigue, dry skin, and hair loss. 

What Vegan Foods are Rich in Saturated Fats?

Vegan foods are usually fewer with those rich in saturated fats, but you should look at the ingredients to check for palm oil and coconut oil, especially on store-baked goods. Another one worth mentioning is olive oil up to an extent has saturated fats. Some of the vegan food sources rich in saturated fats would include:

How do you spot saturated fat? You can discover if something has saturated fat by putting it into the refrigerator. The saturated fat will harden, which is what it does to the arteries to cause heart attacks and strokes. 

Surprising Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has been said to boost feelings of fullness and improve your metabolism rate. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Studies show that vegan saturated fats tend to be less unhealthy than meat saturated fats, but you still need to exercise caution. Eating too much in saturated fats, even from vegan sources, could still potentially lead to heart problems or a stroke. At the same time, you need a small daily amount of them to keep your body working properly, but don’t overdo it since it could lead to health problems later down the road.