Tag Archives: Saturated

A to Z of food terms

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Alcohol – we all know what this is! ‘Alcohol’ is the term used to refer to ethanol and contains a whopping 7 calories per gram!

Amino acids – there are 20 different types of amino acid, eight of which are ‘essential’ – that is, the body cannot make these, so they must be found in the diet.

Antioxidants – these are the good guys, protecting against free radical damage by giving up one of their own electrons, stabilising the free radical and making it less reactive.

BMI - a mathematical calculation used to determine whether or not a person’s bodyweight is suitably healthy for their height. BMI = weight in kg/height in m2. A healthy BMI is considered to be between 18.5 and 25. However, BMI can be unreliable because it measures only weight, not fat. Weight in itself is not always a good indicator of a person’s health, for example muscle weighs more than fat, so most athletes are deemed as overweight using the BMI; this does not however mean that they are unhealthy.

Calorie – a measurement of energy. It refers to the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius. Food calories are measured by combustion, that is, how much heat is released when a foodstuff burns.

Carbohydrate – compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. In dietary terms, there are two kinds – complex carbohydrates and sugar. Carbohydrates contain around 4 calories per gram.

Cholesterol – this is an essential fat that your body uses for many biological processes. However, in excess, it can be harmful. It is made mostly in the liver from saturated fat, and circulates in the bloodstream. There is more than one kind of cholesterol.

Complex carbohydrate – this is a term used to describe larger packages (or molecules) of carbohydrate. There are two kinds – starch and fibre. Starch is found in pasta, rice, potatoes and bread and fibre is explained below.

Essential fatty acids – these are fatty acids that the body is incapable of making on its own, and so must take from the diet. There are two – alpha linolenic acid (an omega-3) and linoleic acid (an omega-6) and they are both polyunsaturated.

Fats – fats are made up of fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone. If there are double bonds between any carbon atoms in a fatty acid, it is said to be unsaturated. Fats and oils are the same, except that oils are liquid at room temperature. Examples include butter, cooking oil, and lard. Many fats are hidden for example, in cream and pastry. Fats are required for padding, insulation, nerve function, production of hormones and transport of vitamins. Fat contains 9 calories per gram.


Fibre – there are two kinds of fibre, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre is found in fruits, vegetables, oats and pulses and helps lower cholesterol and balance blood sugar. Insoluble fibre is ‘roughage’ – also found in the above and in bran and other wholegrains. Insoluble fibre aids digestion and can help prevent bowel problems including cancer.

Free radicals - these are extremely reactive atoms or molecules that carry an uncharged electron. They are necessary for a number of biological reactions, but are so reactive they can also cause cell damage. They are implicated in the development of cancer, heart disease and some chronic diseases. Exposure to certain things for example: cigarette smoke, UV light, pollution or radiation can create free radicals.

HDL cholesterol – high density lipoprotein cholesterol. This is carried by proteins called high density lipoproteins and is the ‘good’ cholesterol. HDLs remove cholesterol from the bloodstream and take it back to the liver.

LDL cholesterol – low density lipoprotein cholesterol. This is carried by proteins called low density lipoproteins and is the ‘bad’ cholesterol. LDLs carry cholesterol around the body and deposit it on artery walls. Too much LDL cholesterol can lead to the development of fatty ‘plaques’ which in turn are a risk factor for heart disease. A high intake of saturated fat can lead to an increase in LDL cholesterol.

Minerals – inorganic substances, not all of which are essential to life. Examples of minerals are calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and sodium.

Monounsaturated fat – an unsaturated fat with one double bond. Olive oil and some nut and seed oils are monounsaturated.

Obese – a BMI over 30

Omega – this is a naming system. It relates to which of the carbon atoms the first double bond occurs, e.g. omega-3, -6 or -9. Omega-3 oils have attracted a lot of attention of late for their protective properties.

Overweight – a BMI over 25

Polyunsaturated fat – an unsaturated fat with multiple double bonds. Corn oil, some seed oils and fish oils are polyunsaturated.

Protein – proteins are made up of amino acids and are required for growth and repair. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, pulses and cereals contain protein. Protein contains 4 calories per gram.

Saturated fat – tend to be from animal sources and raise the levels of bad cholesterol.

Sugar – this is a term commonly used to describe ‘simple’ carbohydrates, or those in smaller packages. There are two kinds – intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic sugars are the ones that are incorporated into the cell walls of plants, for example those found in whole fruits and vegetables. Extrinsic sugars are those which are not, for example those in milk, beet sugar and honey. Non-milk extrinsic sugar is what is more commonly known as refined or added sugar.

Trans fat- these are man-made polyunsaturates with an altered structure, and have been linked with ill health, including raised cholesterol.

Unsaturated fats – tend to be from plant sources. These types of fats reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the blood and can raise levels of good cholesterol.

Vitamins – organic (carbon based) substances that our bodies can break down and alter. Vitamins are needed in very small amounts, but are essential to life. There are two kinds: fat soluble (A, D, E and K) and water soluble (the B vitamins and vitamin C). Fat soluble vitamins circulate in the blood and are stored in fatty tissue, so do not need to be eaten every day. Water soluble vitamins circulate freely but are not stored, so you need to eat them more frequently.

Cooked breakfast cuts fertility in men

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A diet rich in saturated fats – found in foods like fried bacon, sausages, butter and cream – could cut the sperm count by almost half, found researchers at Harvard Medical School in the US.

Their study discovered that it did not matter if the man was fat or thin – such a diet had the same negative effect on sperm concentration.

he study has been conducted at the Harvard University and has stated that men consuming these kinds of fats are more likely of producing low sperm count and less active sperm. In contrast, it was also found that those men, whose diet is rich in polyunsaturated fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, were more likely to produce healthy sperms.

According to the lead researcher of the study, Dr. Jill Attaman, it was found in the study that there was an important link-up between fat intake and the quality of semen produced by men. She added that the link-up showed that lifestyle factors can affect the potential of male fertility among people.

Though, Ms. Attaman was not able to provide the exact relation between the reasons behind the link-up. However, she did state that the body differently treated different types of fats in the body and that was the cause why the affect was so different because of the consumption of different fats.

sperm count

Sperm count

“Polyunsaturated fats are important components of sperm cell membranes and may influence the ability of sperm to fertilize an egg,” she explained, adding that they “may [also] stimulate hormone production.”


The results of the study were presented Monday at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting, in Denver.

For the study, Attaman’s team analyzed the sperm of 91 men who were attending the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center in Boston. The men also answered questions about their diet and the types of fats they ate. A number of the men also had levels of fatty acids in their sperm and semen measured, the researchers said.

The researchers found that men with the highest intake of saturated fat had 41 percent fewer sperm than men who ate the lowest amount of saturated fat. And men with the highest intake of monounsaturated fat had 46 percent fewer sperm compared with men with the lowest intake of monounsaturated fat.

Traditional cooked breakfast

Traditional cooked breakfast

On the other hand, men who had a higher intake of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats had greater sperm motility, and a higher intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats was related to better sperm “morphology” — the size and shape of sperm.

“Whether these finding are important may depend on an individual male,” Attaman said.

For example, a 40 percent difference is large, but may be important to some men and not to others. If a man has a marginal sperm concentration, such as 25 million sperm per milliliter, a 40 percent reduction could bring his sperm count down to 15 million per milliliter, which is abnormal, Attaman said.

But, if a man’s sperm count is closer to 100 million per milliliter, a 40 percent decrease would still maintain a normal sperm count of 60 million per milliliter, she said.

“That would be unlikely to make a difference in fertility potential,” Attaman said.

Saturated fat is the main dietary source of high blood cholesterol and can be found mostly in foods from animals and some plants, such as beef, veal, lamb, milk and cheese. Monounsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil. Other sources include avocados, peanut butter, and many nuts and seeds, according to the American Heart Association.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish, whole grains and some seeds and nuts.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale Unioversity School of Medicine, said that “this is a small study of association between variations in dietary intake, and variations in sperm quantity and function. It does not directly prove cause-and-effect.”

Some of the findings, such as an inverse association between monounsaturated fat intake, which is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, and sperm count are counter-intuitive, he noted. The association between polyunsaturated fat intake, and in particular balanced intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fat, with sperm vitality is in accord with general health knowledge, he said.

“Overall, the study makes this provocative suggestion: Not only is it true that we are what we eat, but we start to be so before we are ever conceived,” Katz said. “The dietary pattern of a father-to-be is affecting the composition of the sperm that will be delivering half of the genes to a future son or daughter. So, it’s one more reason to choose our foods wisely.”