Cholesterol, the good, the bad and the ugly!
Cholesterol, the good, the bad and the ugly! Lipids are a forgotten and unreferenced building block in the human body. Why is it when we talk about healthy lifestyles, that lipid’s and the major functions it provides for us is not mentioned. Sure some of its lower members are recounted daily like proteins and fats, but there is so much more to learn and understand. In the next developing paragraphs I will be discussing and explaining the functionality of lipids, fats, cholesterol, and how it all comes together to provide the body with the energy and strength to perform its daily functions. First, we must learn what lipids are. Lipids are an organic compound in the body that make up about 18-25% of body mass in a lean built adult. Lipids have similar qualities like carbohydrates, Tortora, G. & Derrickson, B. (2014) explain that “like carbohydrates, lipids contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Unlike carbohydrates, they do not have a 2:1 ratio of hydrogen to oxygen.” (pg. 45) With the slight differences than carbohydrates this makes lipids usually smaller, and so fewer polar covalent bonds. Making most lipids unsolvable in solvents like water or plasma, they are called hydrophobic. Tortora & Derrickson (2014) manage to articulate that
Because they are hydrophobic, only the smallest lipids (some fatty acids) can dissolve in watery blood plasma. To become more soluble in blood plasma, other lipid molecules join with hydrophilic protein molecules. The resulting lipid–protein complexes are termed lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are soluble because the proteins are on the outside and the lipids are on the inside. (pg.45)
The result of this makes it possible for lipids to cross plasma membranes as the now soluble lipoprotein; this is also how they transport vitamins. In all accounts though, lipids hold the most important function and that is the storage of energy. Energy is obtained by the oxidization of the lipids in the body. Where are the lipids coming from though, how
Because they are hydrophobic, only the smallest lipids (some fatty acids) can dissolve in watery blood plasma. To become more soluble in blood plasma, other lipid molecules join with hydrophilic protein molecules. The resulting lipid–protein complexes are termed lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are soluble because the proteins are on the outside and the lipids are on the inside. (pg.45)
The result of this makes it possible for lipids to cross plasma membranes as the now soluble lipoprotein; this is also how they transport vitamins. In all accounts though, lipids hold the most important function and that is the storage of energy. Energy is obtained by the oxidization of the lipids in the body. Where are the lipids coming from though, how