Content
- What function do they fulfill?
- Classification of lipids and fats
- Diet participation and excesses
- Storage diseases
- Examples of lipids
- More information?
The lipids are a part of everyone's diet, in particular the part that is usually given by fats, which together with the carbohydrates represents the largest source of energy for the body.
The lipids are organic molecules that are composed mainly of carbon and hydrogen, and whose main characteristic is that they are insoluble in water but soluble in others organic compounds like benzine and chloroform.
What function do they fulfill?
In this sense, it can be said that the main function of lipids is energyThey are a very good way to store energy: their caloric content is 10 kilocalories per gram.
However, lipids also have a function within the body as Water reserve, since they have a greater degree of reduction than in carbohydrates.
On the other hand, the heat storage It also has to do with lipids, as well as various structural, informational or catalytic of the body.
Classification of lipids and fats
The most common classification made of lipids is between the saponifiables and the not saponifiable: the former are synthesized in organisms from the successive apposition of units of two carbon atoms, while the latter are synthesized from a basic unit of five carbon atoms.
In the group of saponifiables are fatty acids, which in turn are usually classified between saturated and unsaturated. The Saturated fats are those that have an animal origin, while fatsunsaturated they are those that come off the vegetables, and have a healthy use when replacing the saturated ones.
Diet participation and excesses
For human nutrition, it is recommended that fats contribute between twenty and thirty percent of daily energy needs.
However, the body does not make equal use of all types of fat, so it is better to say that the body should have 10 percent saturated fat, 5 percent unsaturated fat, and 5 percent polyunsaturated fat.
If you consume a greater amount of fat than recommended, it is most likely that the supplement with the consumption of other nutrients you end up overstepping the recommended calorie limit. If, instead, what happens is a excess consumption of saturated fat, What increases is the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Storage diseases
On the other hand, there are several diseases that can appear due to the storage of lipids in some cells Y body tissues.
The most common is gaucher disease, which is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme glucocerebrosidase, and affects men and women equally. Other diseases of this type are those of Niemann-Pick, Fabbry's or gangliosidosis.
All these diseases are hereditarysince parents carry a defective gene that regulates a protein particular in a class of body cells. Although the treatment of these diseases in many cases is not yet available, a enzyme replacement therapy, or blood transfusions.
Examples of lipids
The following list also includes foods that are highly lipid-containing:
| Butter | Cortisone |
| Olive oil | Omega 6 fats |
| Margarine | Paraffin wax |
| Soy | Bee wax |
| Progesterone | Walnuts |
| Sunflower oil | Prolactin |
| Omega 3 fats | Gel |
| Canola seeds | LDL cholesterol |
| Estrogens | Cholic acid |
| Canola oil | Phosphatidic acid |
| Estrogens | Glucosphingolipids |
| Corn | Lard |
More information?
- Examples of Fats
- Examples of Carbohydrates
- Examples of Proteins
- Examples of Trace Elements
