All cooking oils contain a mixture of both saturated and unsaturated fats. (Unsaturated fats carry a lower risk of coronary artery disease than saturated fats, according to the website Science Daily, and are generally considered healthier.) For example, safflower oil contains one of the highest levels unsaturated fat at 86 percent, while coconut oil contains one of the lowest levels of unsaturated fat at 8 percent, according to the NutriStrategy website. You can compare levels of unsaturated fats in different cooking oils with a few simple calculations.
Step 1
Examine the nutritional label of the cooking oil in question. Check the amount of total unsaturated fat (the total of the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are also listed separately), as well as the total fat per serving. For example, 1 tbsp. of canola oil contains 13g of unsaturated fat (4g of polyunsaturated and 9g of monounsaturated) and 14g of total fat, according to the BuddySlim website.
Step 2
Divide the amount of unsaturated fat by the total fat in the cooking oil to obtain the decimal fraction of unsaturated fat in the cooking oil. For example, 1 tbsp. of canola oil contains 13g of unsaturated fat and 14g of total fat, so the decimal fraction of unsaturated fat in canola oil is 13/14, or 0.93.
Step 3
Multiply the decimal fraction of unsaturated fat in the cooking oil by 100 to obtain the percentage of unsaturated fat. For example, the decimal faction of unsaturated fat in canola oil is 0.93, and 0.93x100=93, so 93 percent of the fat in canola oil is unsaturated.
Step 4
Repeat this procedure with other cooking oils. This will let you can compare the relative levels of unsaturated fat between them.
Tips and Warnings
- A fat is unsaturated if its fatty acid chain contains at least one double bond. This reduces the number of hydrogen atoms in the fatty acid chain, making the fat "unsaturated" with hydrogen atoms.
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