What Are the Different Types of Saturated Fat, and Are Some Healthier Than Others?

For decades, Americans have avoided saturated fat out of concern it could raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease. But newer research suggests that not all forms of saturated fat are equally harmful, and some foods high in saturated fats can be included in a heart-healthy diet.

This may leave you wondering how some forms of saturated fat differ from others and whether that should affect what you choose to eat. Here’s the lowdown.

There are two main types of dietary fat: unsaturated and saturated. Both are composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms linked together in chains.

Saturated fats, on the other hand, exclusively have single bonds between carbon atoms, which allows them to be “saturated” with hydrogen atoms. This structure makes them solid or semi-solid at room temperature — think butter, lard, coconut oil, or the visible white fat in red meat.

There are over a dozen different kinds of saturated fats (also known as saturated fatty acids). They fall into roughly three categories based on the length of their carbon chains:

• Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
• Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs)
• Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs)

The primary kinds of saturated fatty acids include the following:

Butyric Acid (Short-Chain)

Butyric acid is a four-carbon short-chain fatty acid. Small amounts are found naturally in butter and other dairy fats — in fact, butter gets its name from butyrate.

Lauric Acid (Medium-Chain)

Lauric acid is the predominant saturated fat in coconut oil and palm oil. It’s classified as a medium-chain fatty acid (it has 12 carbon atoms), though metabolically it behaves somewhere between medium- and long-chain fats.

Medium-chain fats are smaller and more water-soluble than long-chain fats and are absorbed more rapidly by the body and metabolized more readily. They head directly to the liver where they are available quickly for energy use, says Elisabetta Politi, RD, LDN, certified diabetes care and education specialist at the Duke Lifestyle and Weight Management Center in Durham, North Carolina

Stearic Acid (Long-Chain)

This may help explain why it appears to have a relatively neutral effect on LDL cholesterol, says Politti.

Palmitic Acid (Long-Chain)

Palmitic acid is the most common saturated fat in the American diet. It’s abundant in red meat, butter, cheese, palm oil, and many highly processed foods.

Although both stearic acid and palmitic acid are long-chain, palmitic acid has 16 carbon atoms and stearic has 18. The difference may sound small, but it affects how the body processes these fats.

No food contains just one type of saturated fat; most are combinations of all three kinds. The saturated fats in beef tallow, for instance, are a combination of palmitic and stearic.

Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, and Other Full-Fat Dairy Foods

Dairy fat contains a mix of saturated fatty acids, including palmitic and smaller amounts of unique fatty acids that researchers are continuing to explore.

Despite the LDL-raising effect of palmitic acid, there is some evidence that certain dairy fat may have a more neutral impact on the body than other food sources of saturated fat.

Red Meat

That doesn’t mean that red meat or other animal products can’t be part of a healthy diet, but in limited amounts, says Dena Champion, RDN, registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

Butter

Butter contains a small amount of butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid linked with good gut health. But most of the beneficial short-chain fatty acids in the body don’t come from butter; they are produced by “good” bacteria in the gut.

It's not clear that the butyric acid made in the gut is the same as the butyric acid in butter, says Politi.

Coconut and Palm Oil (Plant-Based Tropical Oils)

Coconut and palm oils are high in saturated fat. Coconut oil is predominantly lauric acid; palm oil is rich in palmitic acid.

Highly Processed and Fried Foods

Pizza, burgers, pastries, fried chicken tenders, and French fries are major contributors of saturated fat in the U.S. diet, says Julie Zumpano, RD, registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic.

These foods often combine different types of saturated fat. Fast food and other highly processed foods are often prepared with palm oil, which is high in palmitic acid.

When considering the health impact of any fat it’s important to consider what that fat replaces and the overall nutritional benefits of the food, including fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and level of processing, says Zumpano. Highly processed foods don’t offer much nutritional value compared with whole foods, she says.

Limiting highly processed foods — items like fast foods, chips, and donuts — will lower saturated fat intake while improving overall diet quality, she notes.

But there are reasons to watch one’s overall intake of saturated fat. Even sources of saturated fats that appear to have a lesser impact on the body can be problematic when eaten in excess.

Full-fat dairy, for instance, may be less problematic than red and processed meat, but research still links it to higher LDL cholesterol. You should limit your intake to one or two servings a day, says Champion.

While the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines praise certain foods high in saturated fat, they recommend that people keep saturated fat intake to under 10 percent of total calories per day, just as the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines advised.

Zumpano recommends limiting saturated fats, but she doesn’t encourage clients to be overly strict in counting up the numbers.

“If you’re aiming for about 10 g of saturated fat a day, for most people I suggest a five-point swing. So you’re probably fine if you go up to 15 one day, but let’s offset the next day by going back to 10 g,” she says.

If you are at high risk of heart disease or currently have heart disease, talk to your provider about what number makes sense for you, says Zumpano.

From a health perspective, there’s no reason to start eating more red meat or drinking whole milk, especially if you prefer low-fat alternatives, says Politi.

• Not all saturated fats act the same way, but many raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease.
• Full-fat dairy foods like yogurt may affect LDL cholesterol differently than red meat, but swapping them for lower-fat choices is still better for heart health.
• Highly processed and fried foods are major sources of saturated fat and are consistently tied to higher cardiovascular risk.
• Experts recommend keeping saturated fat under 10 percent of daily calories (or lower if you’re at high risk) and focusing on unsaturated plant oils, nuts, seeds, beans, and fish.