LIPIDS

Basic Nutrition & Diet Therapy

Credit: Thomas Vogel/E+/Getty Images

Objectives:
Upon completion of this topic the student should be able to do the following:

1. Classify fats and state their fuel value.

2. List the major functions and food sources of fats.
3. Discuss body utilization of essential fatty acids and cholesterol.
4. Explain the difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and
identify their food sources.
5. Evaluate storage of fat in the body and the relationship of fat to normal
body weight.
6. Relate a body’s health to excess total fat intake and excess saturated fat
intake.
Lipids are very diverse in both their respective
structures and functions.

• These diverse compounds that make up

Photo: https://www.foodloose.net/en/healthy-and-unhealthy-fats/lipids
the lipid family are so grouped because
they are insoluble in water.
• They are also soluble in other organic
solvents such as ether, acetone, and other
lipids.
• Lipids serve a variety of important
functions in living organisms.
• They act as chemical messengers, serve as
valuable energy sources, provide
insulation, and are the main components
of membranes.
• Major lipid groups
include fats, phospholipids, steroids,
and waxes. Bailey, 2020
 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL NATURE OF LIPIDS

Physical Characteristics
• The chemical term lipid includes fats, oils,
and related compounds that are insoluble in
water and greasy to the touch.
• Some food lipids—butter, margarine, or
cooking oil—are easily recognized as fats.
• Other foods that appear to be
carbohydrates, such as bakery items or
potato chips, often contain significant
amounts of fat.
Chemical Characteristics
• Lipids are organic compounds
consisting of a carbon chain with
hydrogen and oxygen atoms attached.
Particular lipids may have other
radicals or groups of elements
attached.
• Fatty acids and their related
compounds are the lipids important in
human nutrition.
Chemical Characteristics
Lipids have something in common with
carbohydrates: the same chemical elements that
make up carbohydrates
the same chemical elements that make up
carbohydrates—carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen—also
make up fatty acids. However, carbohydrates and
lipids have two important structural differences:
1. Lipids are more complex, with more carbon (C)
and hydrogen (H) atoms and fewer oxygen (O)
atoms.

2. The common structural units of lipids are fatty

acids, whereas the common structural units of
carbohydrates are simple sugars.
Characteristics of Fatty Acids: Saturation
• The saturation or unsaturation of a lipid governs its physical characteristics:
1. Saturated fats are hard
2. Less-saturated fats are soft
3. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature

• These physical differences are based on the ratio of hydrogen atoms to carbon
atoms in the fatty acids making up the lipid.
• If a fatty acid has a hydrogen atom attached at every available space, then it is
completely saturated. If the fatty acid has some hydrogen spaces unfilled, then it
is unsaturated.
 Characteristics of Fatty Acids: Saturation

1. Saturated: Lipids composed mostly of saturated fatty acids are called saturated fats.
Although saturated fatty acids are usually found in animal foods, the most saturated
food fats are two oils from plants: (1) coconut oil, which is 88% saturated, and (2)
palm kernel oil, which is 80% saturated. All other saturated fats are of animal origin
as found in meat; butter; whole, reduced-fat, and low-fat milk; and other dairy
products.
2. Monounsaturated: Food lipids that have a high proportion of fatty acids with a pair of
hydrogen atoms missing, creating one double bond, are called monounsaturated fats.
These lipids are generally from plant sources. Canola oil (isolated from rapeseed) and
olive oil are primarily mono- unsaturated fats.
 Characteristics of Fatty Acids: Saturation

3. Polyunsaturated: When fatty acids have four or more spaces unfilled with
hydrogen atoms, creating two or more double bonds, they are
polyunsaturated fats. Many of these fats are from plant sources and include
commonly used cooking oils such as corn oil and safflower oil.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids with two or more double bonds are also classified
according to the position in the carbon chain where the first double bond
appears. These are referred to as essential fatty acids because the body cannot
synthesize an n-3 or n-6 fatty acid. The n-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish have a
role in cardiovascular health.
 Essential Fatty Acids

• Two different fatty acids—linoleic acid (an n-6 fatty

acid) and α-linolenic acid (an n-3 fatty acid) are
essential fatty acids for humans. Arachidonic acid,
another fatty acid important in human nutrition, can be
made from linoleic acid. Two n-3 fatty acids associated
with cardiovascular health—(1) eicosapentanoic acid
(EPA) and (2) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)—can be
made from α-linolenic acid but these conversion rates
are extremely slow,13,14 and influenced by age, sex,
genetics, and overall dietary intake. Therefore,
individuals need to obtain these acids from regular
servings of fish.
Linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid have the following roles:

• Skin integrity: The essential fatty acids strengthen cell membranes and prevent a harmful
increase in skin permeability. Essential fatty acid deficiency causes breakdown in skin tissue,
with characteristic eczema and skin lesions. Essential fatty acid deficiency seldom occurs
with the exception of a patient receiving a parenteral nutrition formula that does not
include the essential fatty acids.
• Regulation of lipid metabolism: Polyunsaturated fatty acids can reduce blood lipid levels,
particularly if they are replacing saturated fat in the diet.
• Growth: Normal growth requires an adequate supply of the essential fatty acids, and growth
is impaired in essential fatty acid deficiency; α-linolenic acid is especially important for the
development of brain tissue before and after birth.
• Gene expression: The essential fatty acids regulate the production of enzymes needed for
synthesis of nonessential fatty acids.
• Immune function: Persons with essential fatty acid deficiency have an increased rate of
infection.
 Linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid have the following roles:

• Aggregation of blood platelets: EPA and DHA prevent unwanted aggregation of blood platelets
that blocks the flow of blood in major arteries, causing heart attack or stroke.
• Synthesis of hormonelike agents: Essential fatty acids are metabolic precursors of a group of
physiologically and pharmacologically active compounds known as eicosanoids
Special Needs of Infants Food Sources of Essential Fatty Acids
• Arachidonic acid and DHA play a critical role in • The best sources of the two essential fatty acids
the brain and neural development of infants; are vegetable oils. Corn oil, safflower oil, soybean
both are found in breast milk in liberal oil, cottonseed oil, sun- flower oil, and peanut oil
amounts. Commercial infant formula sold in the are rich in linoleic acid (an n-6 acid), and α-
United States is fortified with arachidonic acid linolenic acid (an n-3 acid) is found in flaxseed,
and DHA to the levels found in human milk. soybean oil, and rapeseed oil (canola oil).
Based on the important role of DHA in both
prenatal and postnatal development, some
nutrition experts have proposed that both
pregnant and lactating women of DHA from
fish or supplements during pregnancy, the DHA
content of breast milk, and infant health
outcomes such as visual acuity and cognitive
development.
Use of Fish Oil Supplements Structure of Triglycerides
• Fish oil supplements, which have received • The body stores fatty acids in the form of
increasing attention in the popular press triglycerides made from three fatty acids attached
as an alternative to eating fish, should be to a glycerol base. When glycerol is combined with
used only with the supervision of a health one fatty acid, it is called a monoglyceride; with two
care professional. Because EPA and DHA fatty acids, it is a diglyceride; and with three fatty
can excessively prolong bleeding time, acids it is termed a triglyceride. Glycerides are found
persons taking anticoagulants including in food and also formed in the body. Most natural
warfarin and aspirin should use such lipids from animal or plant sources are triglycerides.
supplements with caution. Triglycerides serve multiple functions throughout
the body. They appear in body cells as oily droplets
and circulate in the water-based blood plasma
encased in a covering of water-soluble protein.
These lipid-protein molecules are called lipoproteins.
Trans Fats

• To meet the demand for solid fats for use as table fats or food ingredients the process of
hydrogenation was developed. When unsaturated oils are surrounded with hydrogen gas, hydrogen
ions attach at available sites, producing a more saturated (or solid) fat. This process turns unsaturated
vegetable oils into margarine or vegetable shortenings; however, a particular type of unsaturated
fatty acid that is formed in this process, a trans fatty acid, is extremely detrimental to health.
• Trans fatty acids have been implicated in the development of coronary artery disease. In addition, they
elevate the risk of type 2 diabetes and disrupt essential fatty acid functions in cells
LIPID-RELATED COMPOUNDS

Cholesterol
• Although cholesterol is not a fat or a triglyceride, it is often discussed in connection with dietary
lipids. Cholesterol belongs to a family of substances called steroids and travels in the blood
attached to long-chain fatty acids. People some- times confuse cholesterol with saturated fat
because both substances are believed to promote atherosclerosis.

Food Sources

• Cholesterol is found in animal foods but not plant foods. Egg yolk; meat; whole, reduced-fat, and
low-fat milk; cheese; and organ meats supply cholesterol. Animal fats (but not plant fats) are rich
sources.
Functions

Cholesterol is required for normal body function and synthesized in the liver. If a
person obtained no cholesterol whatso- ever from food, the body would still have an
adequate supply. Cholesterol has broad roles as follows:

• Precursor to steroid hormones: A cholesterol compound in the skin,

7-dehydrocholesterol, is converted to vitamin D when the ultraviolet rays of the sun
pass into the skin; cholesterol is also a precursor of estrogen and testosterone.
•Formation of bile acids: Cholesterol is used to form bile acids, which emulsify fats and
facilitate their digestion; bile acids serve as carriers in fat absorption.
•Component of brain and nerve tissue: The brain and nerves include cholesterol in their
structure.
•Component of cell membranes: Cell membranes contain cholesterol.
Lipoproteins

Function

• The liver is the body clearinghouse for fatty acids and cholesterol, whether supplied in
food or produced in body tissues. When received by the liver, fatty acids and
cholesterol are packaged into lipoproteins and released into the circulation for
transport to cells.
Lipid Transport

• Lipids are insoluble in water, which poses a problem when they need to be carried in a
water-based circulatory system. The body solves this problem by producing
lipoproteins, a complex of lipids and lipid like substances surrounded by water-soluble
protein.
• Special compounds called phospholipids are important in the structure of lipoproteins.
Phospholipids are molecules in which one of the three fatty acids attached to a glycerol
base is replaced with a phosphate (PO4−3) group that is water soluble and assists in the
transport of lipoproteins.
• Phospholipids in cell membranes help lipid molecules move from the circulatory system
into the cell.
• Lipoproteins contain fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol, phospholipids, and traces of
fat-soluble vitamins and steroid hormones.
Classes of Lipoproteins

• Lipoproteins are classified according to their density, as determined by their

relative content of lipid and protein. The more protein present, the greater
the density. The amount of each lipoprotein in the blood is influenced by the
time since the last meal and the quantity and type of fat that a person
consumes on a regular basis. The five lipoprotein classes are as follows:
Classes of Lipoproteins
1. Chylomicrons: These relatively large particles are formed in the intestinal wall after a meal and carry the
digested and absorbed fat to the liver for conversion to other lipoproteins.

2. Very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs): The VLDLs are formed in the liver during the fasting interval
between meals. When there is no food in the digestive tract and chylomicrons are not entering the
circulatory system, VLDLs transport endogenous triglycerides from the liver to tissue cells.

3. Intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDLs): IDLs are formed from VLDLs and continue the delivery of
endogenous triglycerides to the cells.

4. Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs): LDLs are formed from VLDLs and IDLs and carry mainly cholesterol, as
most of the triglyceride has already been moved into cells.

5. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs): HDLs return cholesterol from the cells to the liver for breakdown and
excretion.
TO SUM UP

• Lipids are the most energy dense of the macronutrients, yielding 9 kcal/g, and a
concentrated source of fuel.
• Lipids provide insulation to assist in temperature regulation, protect vital organs from
damage, and contribute flavor and texture to foods.
• They have a role in neural transmission, structure of steroid hormones and cell
membranes, and transport of the fat-soluble vitamins.
• The building blocks of lipids are fatty acids. Fatty acids are classified on the basis of
chain length and degree of saturation.
• Linoleic acid, an n-6 fatty acid, and α-linolenic acid, an n-3 fatty acid, are two
polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential and must be supplied in food. The
essential fatty acids are necessary for skin integrity, growth (especially the prenatal
and postnatal development of brain and neural tissue), control of blood cholesterol
levels, and immune function.
 TO SUM UP

• Several n-3 fatty acids in fish discourage platelet aggregation and lower the risk
of heart attack and stroke.
• Both the type and amount of dietary lipids affect health. Inappropriately high
intakes of fat, especially saturated fats and trans fats, increase cardiovascular
risk. The AMDR for fat is 20% to 35% of total kilocalories.
• When lipids provide less than 10% of total kilocalories, supplies of the essential
fatty acids may be inadequate. Consumers should consult the nutrition label and
list of ingredients on processed foods to control their intakes of total fat, trans
fat, and saturated fat.
• Nutrition education should reinforce wise selection of fat-containing and fat-
modified foods to maintain a prudent intake of healthy fats, control energy
intake, and maximize intakes of vitamins and minerals.