25 Examples of Lipids

The lipids They 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. For example: butter, olive oil, beeswax.

Lipids are molecules organic compounds 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 is the role of lipids?

In this sense, it can be said that the principal function of lipids is energetic, as they 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, as 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 atoms carbon, while the latter are synthesized from a basic unit of five carbon atoms. carbon.

In the group of saponifiables are the 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 of the vegetables, and have a healthy use when replacing the saturated ones.

Diet participation and excesses

For the diet of people, 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 must have 10% saturated fat, 5% unsaturated fat, and 5% 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 I ended up producing a calorie limit exceeded advisable. If, on the other hand, what happens is an excess in the consumption of saturated fats, what increases is the risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases.

Storage diseases

On the other hand, there are several diseases that may 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 Niemann-Pick, Fabbry or gangliosidosis.

All these diseases they are hereditary, since 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, enzyme replacement therapy, or blood transfusions, is usually used.

Examples of lipids

The following list also includes foods that are highly lipid-containing:

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