Fats and oils are made up of four parts in which one part called glycerol attached to three other parts called fatty acids. Glycerol is a thick liquid, which has many industrial uses. The fatty acids can vary which forms different types of fats and oils. Both Fats and oils have various domestic and industrial uses. Coconut oil and strong alkali, such as sodium hydroxide form soap which an example of fats and oils. The structure of soap molecules has water-loving heads and water-repelling tails. In dirty water, the tails gather around dirt particles, in this way the direction dissolves into the water, and be carried away with it. Let us now discuss what is the difference between fats and oils.
What Are Fats?
Fats are the compounds that are soluble in organic solvents and mostly insoluble in water. They are solid at room temperature. Fats serve both structural and metabolic functions in this way fat is an important foodstuff for many forms of life.
What are Oils?
A non-polar chemical substance which is a viscous liquid at ambient temperatures is termed as oil. In other words, oils are the fats, which are liquid at room temperature.
Difference between fats and oils
Difference between fats and oils
The important differences between oils and fats
| Sr No. | Parameters | Fats | Oils |
| 1. | Occurrence | They are solid at room temperature | They are liquid at room temperature |
| 2. | Types | Saturated fats and trans fats | Monounsaturated oils and polyunsaturated oils |
| 3. | Source | Mostly derived from animal | Mostly derived from plants |
| 4. | Effect on body | Increases cholesterol levels | Does not increase cholesterol levels |
| 5. | Origin | Fats we get from animal food but can also be obtained from vegetable oil by a process called hydrogenation | Oils we obtained from plants or fish |
| 6. | Solubility | It does not dissolve with water | It does not dissolve with water |
| 7. | Example | Butter, beef fat | Vegetable oil, fish oil |
As we have now understood the difference between fats and oils, let us now discuss more fats and oils.
Fats
There are three main macronutrients fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Fat molecules mainly consist of carbon as a primary atom and hydrogen atoms. Fats are soluble in organic solvents whereas insoluble in water. They are solid at room temperature. There are two types of fats: Saturated fats and trans fats.
A type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have mainly single bonds is termed as saturated fats. Saturated fat is also known as solid fat. This fat can increase your cholesterol levels. Some examples of food containing maximum saturated fats are cakes, butter, cookies.
A type of unsaturated fat that occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat is termed as Trans fat. Trans – fat is also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans- fatty acids. It became widely produced as an unintentional by-product in the industrial processing of vegetable and fish oils
Oils
Unsaturated lipids, which are liquid at room temperature, are termed as oils. Heat transfer oil is a type of oil that is used as both as coolants, for heating, and in other applications of heat transfer. There are two types of unsaturated fats or oils. They are Mono-unsaturated fats and poly-unsaturated fats.
In nuts, vegetable oils, and avocado we found monounsaturated fat in them. These are also organic oil. Consuming food that is rich in monounsaturated fats helps in controlling cholesterol levels by keeping high good HDL cholesterol and lowering bad LDL cholesterol.
Polyunsaturated fat is found in oils such as sunflower, corn, and soybean. Seafood majorly consists of these fats. They are also known as mineral oils. Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat in food consumption may help in lowering LDL cholesterol. There are two types of polyunsaturated fats. They are Omega 3, Omega 6.
FAQs about Fats and Oils
Q1. What are fats and oil’s functions?
Answer: The body uses fat as a power source, and fat is the primary component of energy storage in the body. Fat plays an essential role in our body, for this we require a reasonable amount of fat in the diet for good health. Food fats come in a number of forms, including saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Q2. What are visible and invisible fats?
Answer: Visible fats are edible oils, ghee butter, vanaspati, kinds of margarine, etc. Fats that are present as an integral component of various foods like nuts, cereals, pulses, and processed foods are invisible fats. The small amounts of invisible fat present in various foods add up to a substantial level in our daily diet. Invisible fat is provided by most of the animal foods in high amounts of invisible fat. Hence, it is necessary to take into account the invisible fat intake while considering the dietary intake of visible fat.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Leave a Reply