Difference Between Oil and Fat

Oil vs Fat

Fats and oils are important for our bodies. Therefore, they should be a main part in our diet. However, there are other types of oils which have other usages and not suitable for eating.

Oil

Oil is a general term used to indicate vegetable oils, petrochemical oils, essential oils and synthetic oils. Oil is a liquid substance which has a thick consistency than water. It doesn’t dissolve in water, but may dissolve in other oils or organic solvents. Oil has less density than water; therefore, it floats on water. Oils are produced by animals and plants through their metabolic processes. Vegetable oil is made by extracting these oils produced by metabolism in plants.

Essential oils are liquids extracted from different parts of a plant. Distillation is often used for this purpose. Flowers, leaves, bark, seeds, roots, and other elements of some plants contain useful compounds, which can be extracted as liquids. These extracts are colorless or have slightly pale colors and are very concentrated. Therefore, they have to be diluted before using in applications. They are used for medicinal purposes, cookery, for cosmetics and perfumes etc. Inhalation or applying essential oils in skin provides various mental and physical therapeutic benefits. Antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antiseptic, analgesic, diuretic are some of the essential oil properties out of hundreds of them. Jasmine, cinnamon, lemon, rose, clove, black pepper, ginger are some of the commonly used plants to extract essential oils.

Fragrance oils are mixtures of synthetic substances, or sometimes it can be a mixture of essential oils and synthetic substances. Sometimes they are made to smell like something natural, and sometimes they are formulated to create a new fragrance.

Petrochemical oil is a mixture of hydrocarbon which can be found as liquid in room temperature. Oil can be in many forms as mineral oil, crude oil, etc. Except the gas component in the petroleum, the rest of the mixture is known as crude oil. It is a liquid, and alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons are mainly found in crude oil.

Oils are used for various purposes. They are widely used in cosmetics, painting, as lubricants, as fuels, for cooking, and as ingredients for a lot of other products.

Fat

Fats are organic molecules. There are different types of fats. They are derived from fatty acids and glycerol. Different fatty acids have different amount of carbon atoms. Depending on the type of fatty acid, the chemical structure of fat varies. Also, the properties of any fat vary with the fatty acid. Fat molecules are trimesters of glycerol which are known as triglycerides. Therefore, fats have ester bonds.

Fats can be categorized into two as saturated and unsaturated fats. In saturated fats, all the fatty acids contain a maximum number of hydrogen atoms, which are connected to carbon atoms. In unsaturated fats, fatty acids contain double bonds. Fats are soluble in organic solvents, but do not dissolve in water.

Fats are important in our bodies, because they help to absorb vitamin A, D, E and K which are fat soluble. It serves as an energy store in our bodies and important for maintaining healthy hair and skin.

Oil vs Fat