Fats- The Different Types
What is a Fat
A fat is an oily or greasy matter that makes up most of animal tissue. Fat can be a compound of carbon, oxygen, or hydrogen that are glycerides of fatty acids. There are many different types of fats including triglycerides, OMEGA, FFA, unsaturated fats, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, trans fats, HDL, LDL and cholesterol.
Types of Fats
Triglyceride
A triglyceride is a group of lipids that are made up of 3 fatty acids that are combined with a glycerol using dehydration synthesis. Triglycerides are common
components of animal fats and vegetable oils.
This is an illustration of how fatty acids bond to glycerol through dehydration synthesis to from triglycerides
OMEGA
OMEGA is poly- unsaturated fatty acids. These cannot be created by the body, so they must be obtained by food. OMEGA can be found in fish, nuts, oils, and certain plants. This fat is crucial to brain function. There are three (3) types of OMEGA; alpha- linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In western diets, Omega-6 fatty acids are much more common than Omega-3 fatty acids. Preliminary research also points toward the fact that Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to the treatment of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. In Omega-3 fatty acids, the first double bond always occurs between the third and fourth carbon atoms from the methyl end of the acid. In Omega-6, on the other hand, the double bond occurs between sixth and seventh carbons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAFIHiPXZC8- all about OMEGA
FFA
FFA stands for "Free Fatty Acid". A Free Fatty Acid is a fatty acid that is not bonded to other molecules. An example of this is the result of hyydrolysis to a triglyceride. Hydrolysis is the opposite of dehydration synthesis. Instead of H2O being removed from the triglyceride, it is added to unattach the fatty acids so that they can become "free".
Unsaturated Fats
Unsaturated fats are fatty acids with one or more double bonds existing in its carbon atoms. They have less carbon-hydrogen bonds than saturated fats. Also, mono- and poly-unsaturated fats are believed to have little affect on LDL cholesterol, and may even lower cholesterol.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are the biggest dietary cause of LDL or, bad cholesterol so, when you eat too many of these fats you are at a major risk for heart disease. This is because of saturated fats high calorie content. A large intake of polyunsaturated fat may increase the risk for some types of cancer.
Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats are unsaturated fats with just one double bonded carbon. They are liquids at room temperature but turn solid when chilled. The also have high vitamin E content. They are healthy for the body when replacing trans or saturated fats in the diet. Examples of monosaturated fats are nuts, avocados, popcorn, and oatmeal.
Trans Fats
A Trans Fat is a fully hydrogenated saturated fat that was chemically made by putting more hydrogens on an unsaturated fat ( such as vegetable oil) to make it saturated. These can not be found in nature becuase hydrogenation is a process that is not found in nature. Trans Fats are used by companies because they are cheap to create, and give food a good taste. However, they are bad for you because they have been shown to raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol. This is why they have been banned as unhealthy.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is found in the bloodstream of every human and is important because it creates cell membranes as well as certain hormones, however too much of it can lead to heart attack or stroke. Low levels of LDL cholesterol are good, however low amounts of HDL can increase the risk of heart disease. Low amounts of LDL do reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure combined with high cholesterol increases your risk of heart attack or stroke even more.
http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/understanding-cholesterol-31-115.html- a video on cholesterol and what it is and how it relates to your body
Many Cereals and health foods claim to lower cholesterol. Some researchers believe that fibers in whole grains create a gel substance that takes cholesterol in your digestive system and excretes it from the body. Thus, it is believed that since it is made of whole grain oats, a cereal like "Cheerios" will lower your cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol medicines like "Lipitor" works by blocking an enzyme in the liver that creates cholesterol. when there is less cholesterol made, the liver uses more from the blood, and thus there is less cholesterol in your blood.
The cholesterol lowering drug LIPITOR
http://www.lipitor.com/about-lipitor/how-lipitor-works.jsp- a informative video on how LIPITOR lowers cholesterol
HDL and LDL
"HDL" stands for high density lipoprotein. It is mostly good because high amounts of HDL lower the risk of heart attack. But low amounts increase your risk of heart disease. Most scientists believe that HDL carries cholesterol back to the liver where it is disposed from the body and that it can slow down the buildup of plaque in the artery walls that can cause clots, heart attacks, and strokes.
"LDL" stands for low density lipoprotein. It is "bad" because when there is too much of it in your blood stream, it can build up on the inner walls of arteries, harden to form plaque, clot, and cause serious risk of heart attack or stroke. Medicines such as "Lipitor" are created to prevent this from building up and causing serious health risks.
Nutrition Facts
From a nutrition standpoint there are four types of fats: Saturated, Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated, and Trans. Companies are required to put the amounts of total fat and saturated fat on the nutrition label of their products. If the product also contains trans fat, it is required by the FDA to put the amount on the nutrition label. Companies are not
required to put the amounts of monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat on the nutrition label. However, some do.
How to read a nutrition label
Works Cited
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fat[3]
http://blogs.princeton.edu/chm333/f2005/group3/triglyceride.gif
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAFIHiPXZC8
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm
http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?unsaturated+fat
http://www.lipidlibrary.co.uk/lipids/ffa/indes.htm
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=532
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002468.htm
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045795
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045792
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3046103
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1502
http://www.cheerios.com/ourCereals/Cheerios/CheeriosAndCholesterol.aspx
http://www.lipitor.com/about-lipitor/how-lipitor-works.jsp
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=180
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html
http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/understanding-cholesterol-31-115.html
Comments (4)
Abbiii said
at 3:26 pm on Jan 25, 2009
OMG i can not be the only one making this a wiki style layout. copy the chart, put in in a word doc. and start editing NOW!!!!!!
Abbiii said
at 7:11 pm on Jan 25, 2009
everybody stop adding to the chart and start making the article!!!
Abbiii said
at 8:49 pm on Jan 25, 2009
since nobody is responding or editing i guess ill try to finish it : / just PLEASE if you can help!!!
Abbiii said
at 9:32 pm on Jan 25, 2009
okay.. idk if anybody is actually reading these but i have done all i can now. it would be really awesome if u guys could just add to some of the shorter articles i also added some hyperlinks to sections with just solid definitions so ya... please just try to add! i have to go to bed now so just.. ya isk w.e. thanks!
You don't have permission to comment on this page.