discussion the four main types of fatty acids in nutrition.
The four main categories of fatty acids in nutrition are :
saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fatty
acids.
The saturated fatty acids are the one that do not have any double
bond in their long tails. They are mostly solids at room
temperature.
The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids have one or
more than one double bonds in their tails. monounsaturated have
single double bond while polyunsaturated fatty acids have more than
one double bonds. These are liquid at room temperature.
Stearic acid (present in animal fats) and palmitic acid (found in
plam oil) are examples of saturated fatty acids while oleic acid of
olive oil is monounsatured fatty acid. Linoleic acid of soybean oil
is polyunsaturated fatty acid.
Trans fatty acids are the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty
acids that have hydrogen atoms present on opposite side of the
double bond.
Saturated fatty acids pose the risk of heart disease while mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids are known to reduce the risk for heart diseases. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are shown to be most healthy ones among the fatty acids.