Oils and fats do not have a highly complicated chemical formula: on the contrary, they consist of the common elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. All fats and oils used for food contain one or more of the three types of fatty acids, the saturated, the unsaturated and the polyunsaturated. If we consume an excess of saturated fatty acids, as found in refined fats and oils, too much energy is required to digest them and for this reason we feel tired and sleepy after a meal.
The saturated fatty acids are chemical compounds that are exceedingly poor in oxygen and their consumption would require us to exercise and breathe deeply – something we feel no inclination to do after eating such foods. These heavy fats, are mainly of animal origin and have a high melting point, while the unsaturated oils occur chiefly in seeds and have a low melting point. Vegetable oils are richer in unsaturated, even highly unsaturated fatty acids. For this reason natural, unrefined oils are better for you than others. Oils with a low melting point are hardened or hydrogenised because transporting and stocking them in bottles is more difficult and costly. So the oil industries prefer the method of hardening because firm slabs of fat can be more easily packed and transported than liquids.
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