WHAT ARE LIPIDS ?

WHAT ARE LIPIDS ?


Lipids are organic molecules, largely insoluble in water, and mainly hydrocarbons of varying structure. Lipids are transported in blood as large macromolecules; these are complexes with proteins. Free fatty acids are the exception, mainly binding to albumin.

Cholesterol
Cholesterol is steroid molecule with hydrocarbon chain. Cholesterol ester with fatty acid is much less water soluble than free cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance. Your body needs cholesterol for making cell walls and insulating your nerves. Your liver also uses in to make bile acids, which help digest your food. It’s when have too much cholesterol – especially too much of certain kind – that trouble may occur.

Cholesterol can’t travel through your bloodstream in its original form. During digestion your body coast cholesterol with protein. Once coated, the package is called a lipoprotein (lip-o PRO-teen), or a fat-filled protein. Cholesterol is packaged in three forms :

1. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
This form is often described as “bad” cholesterol. One way to remember this is to think of the first L as meaning “lousy”. If you have too much LDL cholesterol in your blood, your body’s cells become saturated with cholesterol , and the cholesterol is deposited on your artery walls, where it accumulates and hardens. This hard substance, an accumulation of plaques, begins to narrow and harden artery wall , making it more difficult for blood to pass through them. If the flow of blood to your heart is severely diminished or completely interrupted, you’ll have a stroke.

2. High-density lipoprotein (HDL)
Unlike cholesterol, which contains mostly protein. This form of cholesterol, HDL cholesterol contains mostly protein. This form of cholesterol is often described as the “good” cholesterol. Think of the H as standing for “healthy”. HDL cholesterol actually picks up cholesterol deposited on your artery walls and transports it to your liver disposal.

3. Very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)
Very-low-density lipoprotein is mainly composed of triglycerides, along with smaller amounts of cholesterol and protein. Elevations in VLDL cholesterol also can to increase your risk heart disease.

Triglycerides
Triglycerides are the chemicals in which most fat exists in your body. Your body converts calories it doesn’t immediately need to triglycerides and transports them to fat cells for storage. Later, hormones regulate the release of triglycerides to meet your energy needs between meals. Just as you need some cholesterol for good health, you need a certain level of triglycerides. But high levels can be unhealthy. Most triglycerides are transported through your bloodstream as very-low-density lipoprotein.