How Do I Find Saturated Fat In Food?

Saturated fat comes from animals such as sheep and cattle and their dairy products. Domesticated animals raised for human consumption tend to have more saturated fat than wild animals. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature. Fat is a necessary part of a balanced diet. Consuming foods high in saturated fat increases the risk of developing heart disease, as saturated fat increases the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Replace foods containing saturated fats with foods containing monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats to meet your daily requirements and decrease the risk of developing heart disease.

Step 1

Identify foods that contain saturated fats. Meats and foods made with tropical oils contain saturated fat. Trim fat from meats and poultry and remove poultry skin to reduce the amount of saturated fats.

Step 2

Read the ingredients on food labels. Foods containing coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil or palm fruit oil contain saturated fat. These oils are often used to make cookies, cakes, candy, crackers, pies and creamers.

Step 3

Check the nutrition label on foods. Saturated fat is listed under total fat. The grams of fat contained in the food are listed to the right, in addition to a percentage. The percentage represents the daily recommended amount of saturated fats.

Step 4

Track the amount of saturated fats consumed each day. Monitor the amount of saturated fats consumed to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Eat fish, nuts and vegetable oils containing monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats to meet your daily fat requirements.