What are Monounsaturated Fats and Polyunsaturated Fats?
Monounsaturated fats contain monounsaturated fatty acids that lower blood cholesterol while Polyunsaturated fats contain oils helps in lowering your total blood cholesterol.
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Monounsaturated Fats
Have you ever wondered why your favorite olive oil salad dressing turns cloudy when it is inside the refrigerator, but clears up when it is left out? What about the layer of oil that forms on top of peanut butter when kept at room temperature?
1. Peanut Butter or Peanut Oil
The formation of oil that you see floating on top of peanut butter is the peanut oil and is an example of monounsaturated fats, just like olive oil, which is an excellent source of these fatty acids.
Monounsaturated fats contain monounsaturated fatty acids that lower blood cholesterol and is typically stored in liquid form when it is at room temperature. When refrigerated this healthy fat turns into a solid formation.
Your blood cholesterol is lowered by increasing the HDL (good) cholesterol, and lowering the LDL (bad) cholesterol. For some people, monounsaturated fatty acids also contribute to lowering triglycerides.
2. Sources of Monounsaturated Fats
Excellent sources of monounsaturated fats are olives, olive and canola oil, peanuts, peanut butter, and all other varieties of nuts and seeds such as almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds.

Polyunsaturated Fats
Found mostly in fish, soy, and walnut, Polyunsaturated fats contain oils that are in liquid form in both room and refrigerator temperature. This type of fatty acid also helps in lowering your total blood cholesterol by decreasing the LDL (bad) cholesterol.
1. Omega 3 and Omega 6
Two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids are Omega three and the Omega six. These fatty acids are said to contribute to reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and cancer. Omega three fatty acids are also known to lower the level of Triglycerides.
2. Sources of Polyunsaturated Fats
Primary sources of Polyunsaturated fats are found in a variety of fish such as tuna, trout, herring, salmon, and mackerel. These fatty acids are also found in oils such as soybean oil, corn oil, and safflower oil.