Unsaturated fat

An unsaturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain, which makes the fatty acid chain, which is basically a chain of hydrocarbons, an alkene. A fatty acid chain is monounsaturated if it contains one double bond, and polyunsaturated if it contains more than one double bond.
A saturated fat has no carbon-to-carbon double bonds, so the maximum possible number of hydrogen is bonded to carbon, and thus, is considered to be "saturated" with hydrogen atoms. To form carbon-to-carbon double bonds, hydrogen atoms are removed from the carbon chain. In cellular metabolism, unsaturated fat molecules contain less energy than an equivalent amount of saturated fat. The greater the degree of unsaturation in a fatty acid the more susceptible it becomes to lipid peroxidation. Antioxidants can protect unsaturated fat from lipid peroxidation.

Composition of common fats

In chemical analysis, fats are broken down to their constituent fatty acids, which can be analyzed in various ways. In one approach, fats undergo transesterification to give fatty acid methyl esters, which are amenable to separation and quantitation using gas chromatography. Classically, unsaturated isomers were separated and identified by argentation thin-layer chromatography.

fat source	saturated	monounsaturated	doubly unsaturated	triunsaturated
Palm kernel	60–65	10–18	1–3	trace
Cottonseed oil	23–30	14–21	45–58	trace
Corn oil	10–15	25–35	40–60	trace
Linseed oil	8–11	18–26	14–20	51–56
Soybean oil	11–17	18–25	49–57	6–11
Peanut oil	12–17	35–42	39–44	trace
Lard	36–48	36–52	10–12	1
Beef tallow	43–64	26–45	2–6	1

The saturated fatty acid components are almost exclusively stearic and palmitic acids. Monounsaturated fats are almost exclusively oleic acid. Linolenic acid comprises most of the triunsaturated fatty acid component.

Chemistry and nutrition

Although polyunsaturated fats are protective against cardiac arrhythmias, a study of post-menopausal women with a relatively low fat intake showed that polyunsaturated fat is positively associated with progression of coronary atherosclerosis, whereas monounsaturated fat is not. This probably is an indication of the greater vulnerability of polyunsaturated fats to lipid peroxidation, against which vitamin E has been shown to be protective.
Examples of unsaturated fatty acids are palmitoleic acid, oleic acid, myristoleic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid. Foods containing unsaturated fats include avocado, nuts, olive oils, and vegetable oils such as canola. Meat products contain both saturated and unsaturated fats.
Although unsaturated fats are conventionally regarded as 'healthier' than saturated fats, the United States Food and Drug Administration recommendation stated that the amount of unsaturated fat consumed should not exceed 30% of one's daily caloric intake. Most foods contain both unsaturated and saturated fats. Marketers advertise only one or the other, depending on which one makes up the majority. Thus, various unsaturated fat vegetable oils, such as olive oils, also contain saturated fat.

Membrane composition as a metabolic pacemaker

Studies on the cell membranes of mammals and reptiles discovered that mammalian cell membranes are composed of a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids than reptiles. Studies on bird fatty acid composition have noted similar proportions to mammals but with 1/3rd less omega-3 fatty acids as compared to omega-6 for a given body size. This fatty acid composition results in a more fluid cell membrane but also one that is permeable to various ions, resulting in cell membranes that are more costly to maintain. This maintenance cost has been argued to be one of the key causes for the high metabolic rates and concomitant warm-bloodedness of mammals and birds. However polyunsaturation of cell membranes may also occur in response to chronic cold temperatures as well. In fish increasingly cold environments lead to increasingly high cell membrane content of both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, to maintain greater membrane fluidity at the lower temperatures.