Oil in the family. (Cover Story).All fats are a mixture of saturated saturated /sat·u·rat·ed/ (sach´ah-rat?ed) 1. denoting a chemical compound that has only single bonds and no double or triple bonds between atoms. 2. unable to hold in solution any more of a given substance. , monounsaturated monounsaturated /mono·un·sat·u·rat·ed/ (mon?o-un-sach´er-at?ed) of a chemical compound, containing one double or triple bond. mon·o·un·sat·u·rat·ed adj. , and polyunsaturated fatty acids Noun 1. polyunsaturated fatty acid - an unsaturated fatty acid whose carbon chain has more than one double or triple valence bond per molecule; found chiefly in fish and corn and soybean oil and safflower oil (though we usually call them by the name of the fatty acid fatty acid, any of the organic carboxylic acids present in fats and oils as esters of glycerol. Molecular weights of fatty acids vary over a wide range. The carbon skeleton of any fatty acid is unbranched. Some fatty acids are saturated, i.e. they have the most of). Look for the least saturated (red), and a good mixture of everything else. Polys (yellow and green) lower cholesterol, while monos (blue) only lower cholesterol if you eat them in place of saturated fats saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be . Alpha-linolenic acid Noun 1. alpha-linolenic acid - a polyunsaturated fatty acid with 18 carbon atoms; the only omega-3 fatty acid found in vegetable products; it is most abundant in canola oil; a fatty acid essential for nutrition (green) is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fat Noun 1. polyunsaturated fat - a class of fats having long carbon chains with many double bonds unsaturated with hydrogen atoms; used in some margarines; supposedly associated with low blood cholesterol that may protect the heart. Canola, soy, and flaxseed oil Noun 1. flaxseed oil - a drying oil extracted from flax seed and used in making such things as oil paints linseed oil linoleic acid, linolic acid - a liquid polyunsaturated fatty acid abundant in plant fats and oils; a fatty acid essential for nutrition; are good sources. Many researchers recommend a mix of alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid linoleic acid /lin·o·le·ic ac·id/ (lin?o-le´ik) a polyunsaturated fatty acid, occurring as a major constituent of many vegetable oils; it is used in the biosynthesis of prostaglandins and cell membranes. (yellow). (Linoleic is a polyunsaturated polyunsaturated /poly·un·sat·u·rat·ed/ (-un-sach´er-at-ed) denoting a chemical compound, particularly a fatty acid, having two or more double or triple bonds in its hydrocarbon chain. omega-6 fat.) If you don't want the details, just stick with canola for cooking. It's among the lowest in saturated fat and it has a good mix of alpha-linolenic and linoleic acids.
Fat (grams)
Type of fat (1 Tbs.) Saturated Monounsaturated
Safflower oil * 0.8 10.2
Canola oil 1.0 8.2
Flaxseed oil 1.3 2.5
Sunflower oil * 1.4 2.7
Corn oil 1.7 3.3
Olive oil 1.8 10.0
Sesame oil 1.9 5.4
Soybean oil 2.0 3.2
Peanut oil 2.3 6.2
Cottonseed oil 3.5 2.4
Chicken fat 3.8 5.7
Lard (pork fat) 5.0 5.8
Beef tallow 6.4 5.4
Palm oil 6.7 5.0
Butter 7.2 3.3
Cocoa butter 8.1 4.5
Palm kernel oil 11.1 1.6
Coconut oil 11.8 0.8
Fat (grams)
Polyunsaturated
Type of fat (1 Tbs.) Linoleic Acid Alpha-Linolenic Acid Other
Safflower oil * 2.0 0.6
Canola oil 2.8 1.3 0.7
Flaxseed oil 2.2 8.0
Sunflower oil * 8.9 0.6
Corn oil 7.9 0.1 0.6
Olive oil 1.1 0.1 0.5
Sesame oil 5.6 0.7
Soybean oil 6.9 0.9 0.6
Peanut oil 4.3 0.7
Cottonseed oil 7.0 0.7
Chicken fat 2.5 0.1 0.7
Lard (pork fat) 1.3 0.1 0.6
Beef tallow 0.4 0.1 0.5
Palm oil 1.2 0.7
Butter 0.3 0.2 0.5
Cocoa butter 0.4 0.6
Palm kernel oil 0.2 0.7
Coconut oil 0.2 0.8
* Safflower and sunflower oil can be high in polys or
monos. Most safflower oil sold in bottles is the high-oleic
(high-mono) variety shown here, but some brands that
are sold in health food stores are the high-linoleic (high-poly)
variety. The sunflower oil sold in bottles is usually
high in polys (as shown here), but most chips and other
packaged foods that are made with sunflower oil use the
high-mono variety.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
(Release 14), the National Sunflower Association, and the Flax
Council of Canada.
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