What is the difference between fats and fatty acids

Updated February 11, Infoplease Staff. Guide to Fats. See also:. The Chemistry of Biology: Lipids. Trending Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about. Is Vatican City a Country? Lipids are classified as- triglycerides, phospholipids, and steroids. Out of these, triglycerides are the largest group of lipids, also known as natural fats.

Phospholipids contain a phosphoric acid residue in addition to the fatty acid and alcohol groups. Steroids are present as hormones and carbohydrates in the body and are hydrophobic molecules. Examples of lipids are butter, vegetable oil, cheese, cholesterol, and other steroids, waxes, phospholipids, fat-soluble vitamins, etc. Fats are types of lipids present in the body in adipose tissues, found under the skin, and surrounding the organs in the body.

They are oily substances with a high saturation rate. Due to high saturation, they are solids only unlike lipids which can be solids or liquids. Saturated fatty acids or saturated fats raise cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood. They also raise blood pressure and make it more likely for your blood to clot. Blood clots are what cause heart attacks and strokes. The biggest sources of saturated fat in the American diet are red meat, whole dairy, chocolate, and butter.

Trans fatty acids are a type of fat made from vegetable oils that also raise cholesterol, blood pressure and increase the risk of diabetes. A range of TFA isomers varieties exist and are structurally different in the position of the double bond along the fatty acid molecule.

Both ruminant and industrial TFA contain the same isomers, with a wider range of structures in industrial TFA, but in different proportions. PUFA can be further categorised into three main families according to the position of the first double bond starting from the methyl-end the opposite side of the glycerol molecule of the fatty acid chain:.

In addition to their formal name, fatty acids are often represented by a shortened numerical name based on the length number of carbon atoms , the number of double bonds and the omega class to which they belong see Annex 1. Examples of nomenclature are; Linoleic acid LA , which is also referred to as C n-6, indicating that it has 18 carbon atoms, 2 double bonds and belongs to the omega-6 fatty acid family.

Alpha linolenic acid ALA , or C n-3, has 18 carbon atoms, 3 double bonds and belongs to the omega-3 fatty acid family. They are important in the formation of cell membranes and are involved in many physiological processes such as blood clotting, wound healing and inflammation.

A source for AA is peanut oil. Fats can make a food more pleasant by enhancing its texture and mouth feel, its appearance, and by carrying fat-soluble flavours. Fats also have physical characteristics that are important in food manufacturing and cooking.

This section addresses these food-technological aspects and will discuss some of the issues related to the reformulation of foods. For example the replacement of TFA as a strategy to reduce the intake of these fatty acids see also The functions of fats in the body.

Fats are used in a wide range of applications, and have many functional properties that contribute to a final product see Table 1. The suitability of a fat for food manufacturing depends on its physical properties, such as the melting temperature and thermal stability.

Fats are made up of a combination of different fatty acids, but one type generally predominates, which determines the physical characteristics. Fats that contain a high proportion of SFA, such as butter or lard, are solid at room temperature and have a relatively high melting temperature. The higher the level of unsaturation of the fatty acids the more unstable they are; MUFA-rich oils, such as olive oil or peanut oil, are more stable and can be re-used to a greater extent than PUFA-rich oils like corn oil or soybean oil.

When deep-frying foods, it is important not to overheat the oil and to change it frequently. Exposure to air and moisture will affect the quality of the oil by the formation of free fatty acids or their degradation. Sunlight can break down the vitamin E and n-3 fatty acids in vegetable oils. Vegetable oils are obtained by washing and crushing the seeds, fruits or nuts, and using heat to separate the oil. The oil is then refined to remove any unwanted taste, smell or colour.

The latter is a small fraction of the total quantity of produced vegetable oils. The fatty acid composition varies widely among different vegetable oils, and technical processes, like hydrogenation and interesterification, are used to obtain preferred characteristics. These processes have been debated from a human health perspective and are discussed below. Other technical solutions to modify the properties of oil include blending and fractionation. Hydrogenation is a process that converts liquid vegetable oils, depending on the level of hydrogenation from partial to full hydrogenation into semi-solid or solid fats to make them suitable for food manufacturing purposes.

Hydrogenated vegetable oils are usually cheaper than animal fat with the same physical properties, they are more heat-stable, and have increased shelf life. Partial hydrogenation reduces most but not all, of the double bonds and modifies the properties of the oil without increasing the SFA content to a great extent.