Some fats are undesirable in a diet. Over time they can lead to a number of health problems.
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Features
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Desirable Fats
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Undesirable Fata
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consistency at room temperature
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liquid
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solid
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source
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unmodified vegetable oil
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animal, modified vegetable oil
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unsaturated double bonds
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many (poly)
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none (saturated)
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trans fatty acids
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absent
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present
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hydrogenation
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none
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partial or complete
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Industrial modification of vegetable oils results in many undesirable features:
(1) it converts a liquid into a solid (for better stability and longer shelf life)
(2) the process of hydrogenation adds hydrogen to the fatty acids which reduces the number of unsaturated double bonds
(3) hydrogenation also converts cis-fatty acids to trans-fatty acids
