Linoleic acid — the most destructive ingredient in your diet

 Fats — which are water-insoluble biological molecules also known as lipids¹ — are the primary building block of your cell membranes. This is one of the reasons why eating the right types of fat is so important for your health and longevity.

What distinguishes one fat from another is the specific combination of fatty acids it's composed of, and the properties of fats and fatty acids depend on their hydrogen saturation and the length of their molecules, also referred to as "chain length." 

There are two basic types of fatty acids, based on how many of their carbon bonds are paired with hydrogen:²

- Saturated fats are fully loaded with hydrogen atoms forming straight chains, and are typically solid at room temperature (examples include butter and coconut oil)

- Unsaturated fats have lost at least one of the pairs of hydrogen atoms from their carbon chain and come in two varieties:

◦ Monounsaturated fats, which are missing one pair of hydrogen atoms

◦ Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs), which are missing more than one pair of hydrogen atoms, hence the name "poly"

The loss of hydrogen results in molecules that kink or bend at each double bond. The more hydrogen pairs that are missing, the more bent the molecules, which causes the molecules to occupy more space. This is what makes the fat a liquid oil at room temperature....<<<Read More>>>...