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Fat is essential for cell function, nutrient absorption, hormone balance, body temperature regulation and more. Some fats like saturated fat, are considered “bad” by some because eating too ...
Saturated phosphatidylcholine lipids with tails longer than 14 carbons are solid at room temperature, while those with fewer than 14 are liquid. This phenomenon is analogous to the fact that paraffin wax , which is composed of long alkanes, is solid at room temperature, while octane ( gasoline ), a short alkane, is liquid.
When circulating in the plasma (plasma fatty acids), not in their ester, fatty acids are known as non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) or free fatty acids (FFAs). FFAs are always bound to a transport protein, such as albumin. [15] FFAs also form from triglyceride food oils and fats by hydrolysis, contributing to the characteristic rancid odor. [16]
A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds between the carbon atoms. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched chain of carbon (C) atoms.
The breakdown of this fat is known as lipolysis. The products of lipolysis, free fatty acids , are released into the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. During the breakdown of triacylglycerols into fatty acids, more than 75% of the fatty acids are converted back into triacylglycerol, a natural mechanism to conserve energy, even in ...
However, since the fats and oils in most natural and traditionally processed foods contain both unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, [73] the complete exclusion of saturated fat is unrealistic and possibly unwise. For instance, some foods rich in saturated fat, such as coconut and palm oil, are an important source of cheap dietary calories ...
Once freed from glycerol, the free fatty acids enter the blood, which transports them, attached to plasma albumin, throughout the body. [4] Long-chain free fatty acids enter metabolizing cells (i.e. most living cells in the body except red blood cells and neurons in the central nervous system) through specific transport proteins, such as the ...
Common Name Systematic Name Structural Formula Lipid Numbers Propionic acid: Propanoic acid CH 3 CH 2 COOH : C3:0 Butyric acid: Butanoic acid CH 3 (CH 2) 2 COOH : C4:0 Valeric acid