The saturated fat containing fatty acids that have no double bonds between carbons of the hydrocarbon chain.

The saturated fat found in foods of animal origin such as meat, sausages, milk, dairy products, etc., and are solid at room temperature. Although there are also some of vegetable origin, such as coconut and palm oil, very common in industrial pastries.

The consumption of saturated fat increases the level of cholesterol in the blood, being one of the main risk factors for heart disease.

The unsaturated fats contain fatty acids with a double bond. They are found in foods of plant origin, such as in oil (olive, sunflower, corn, ...), in nuts and in seeds (sunflower, flax, sesame, etc.).

The monounsaturated fats contain fatty acids with a double bond. For example, they are found in oleic acid in olive oil and other seed oils (sunflower, rapeseed, etc.), and in nuts. They are liquid at room temperature.

The polyunsaturated fats contain fatty acids with several double bonds between the carbon atoms of the hydrocarbon chain. They are more solidified than monounsaturated fats but less than saturated fats, so they are also liquid at room temperature. Some polyunsaturated fats contain, for example, acids omega 3 and omega 6, which are not produced by the organism and must incorporate through food.

There are two types of fatty acids:

• Saturated fatty acids.
  • All of its covalent bonds are simple.
  • Its hydrocarbon chains are linear, allowing more Van der Waals bonds to be packed up and established between atoms in neighboring chains.
  • The longer the chain, the more likely there are these weak interactions with neighboring chains.
  • Due to the large number of these interactions, they are in a solid state at room temperature. High melting point.

• Unsaturated fatty acids.
  • They have one or more double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain, which causes elbows or angles to form in their chain.
  • These angles prevent many weak interactions between neighboring chains, reducing packing and increasing the mobility of the molecules.
  • They are in a liquid state at room temperature. Low melting point.