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Lipids Facts

Lipids Facts
Lipids are naturally occurring organic molecules in the body that store energy, signal, and act as cell membrane structural components. The other three organic molecules are carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and proteins. Lipids contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, just like carbohydrates, but they have more hydrogen than oxygen. Lipids contain substances such as waxes, steroids, fats, and phospholipids. They do not dissolve in water, which means they are considered 'hydrophobic' (not water-soluble). The word lipid is often used to describe fats, but fats are actually a sub-group, referred to as triglycerides. While the body can synthesize some lipids from dietary fats, some must be obtained from the diet itself.
Interesting Lipids Facts:
Wax is a lipid, and is used I a variety of everyday products such as candles, chewing gum, and even nail polish.
While consuming fat is important for health, the type of fat is important. Too much fat in the diet is not good for human health in the same way that too little fat is not good for human health.
It is believed that consuming too many saturated fats in the diet can lead to increased cancer risk. This means that it is best to avoid saturated fat and choose foods that contain unsaturated fat instead, such as nuts, some vegetables, and some fish.
Fat helps the body absorb certain vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Saturated fats will remain solid at room temperature while unsaturated fats will remain liquid.
Steroids are a type of lipid that includes chlorophyll, cortisol, cholesterol, and hormones. Cholesterol and cortisol are essential for human life, and in some cases steroids are prescribed by doctors for healing illnesses.
Steroids that competitors use can be damaging to human health. These are not the same natural lipid steroids.
When there is a lipid imbalance in the body the result can be high cholesterol, which is believed to be associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk.
Lipids are also believed to play a role in a variety of diseases including inflammatory diseases, various cancers, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The main categories of lipids include fatty acids, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterol lipids, prenol lipids, saccharolipids, and polyketides.
Science has shown that lipid signaling is vital for cell signaling, which means they play an important role in cell communication.
Some studies tried to show a link between dietary fat and increased obesity risk, but they were not successful in proving their theory. It has been concluded that the total amount of dietary fat in one's diet is not associated with either weight issues or disease risk.
An emulsion test can be done to determine lipid presence. This test is considered wet chemistry, in which the sample is dissolved in alcohol, and then decanted into water. Once diluted the lipids, which are not water soluble, provides a white emulsion.
When the body contains too many lipids, from trans fats and monosaturated fats, this can lead to hardening of the arteries, which is harmful to human health and can lead to cardiovascular issues.


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