saturated fat

Professor Sarah Berry, senior author and Professor of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London, explained: "With the current demonization of everything processed, this research highlights that not all food processing is bad for us! The process of interesterification allows the generation of hard fats in place of harmful trans fats, whilst also enabling manufacturers to reduce the saturated fat content of spreads and foods. Given the widespread use of the process of interesterification of fats and the fearmongering around food processing, this research is timely."

These beloved foods—not to mention pizza, cookies and many sandwiches—all contain saturated fat.

The current dietary guidelines, which are updated every five years, recommend people limit their saturated fat intake to less than 10% of daily calories.

Still, more than three-quarters of Americans eat more saturated fat than the guidelines currently recommend.

Here’s what the science says about saturated fat and health: