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The numbers cited in Tom's message got to be wrong. Most oils contain triglycerides, or esters of glycerol. The acid portion forming the ester (which is the combined product from an alcohol and an acid) consists of fatty acids. No fatty acids are used for human consumption as major nutrients, only the esters, or oils, are used. Among oils, there are saturated, various unsaturated fatty acid components. These components are easily available in many articles. What Tom alluded to is perhaps the real fatty acid content, not the oil, in various grades of olive oil. These free fatty acids are indeed impurities. I am a research chemist with speciality in oils and fatty acids; therefore, I know what I am talking about. Indeed, the differences in fatty acid components make a great deal of difference in their physiochemical interaction with our body. Any fatty acids with no unsaturation (double bond in the molecule) are solid at room temperature, they are bad for the body because they will form solids in your veins, clogging up your heart. Omega 3 acids (with one unsaturation near the end of the fatty chain) triglycerides are proposed to be good for cancer prevention. I hope the above will help most of us to understand the fatty acid or oil issues. We never ingest fatty acids, only the oils, which are digested in our body system.
Ann
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