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Lipids for dummies!

What is lipids?

Lipids are one of the three macro nutrients (= nutrient that provides energy ) essential for the proper functioning of our body, alongside carbohydrates and proteins .

In everyday language, we often tend to speak of “fat” and it is not for nothing since “lipid” comes from the Greek “Lipos” which means “fat”. Lipids are therefore fats – essential for our body (e.g our brain is made up of at least 50% lipids). They have a very negative image linked to the role they perform in the appearance of pathology such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, cerebrovascular diseases, etc.

The fundamental roles of lipids

# 1 An important source of energy for our organization

Lipids play a very important role in our body because they  provide energy  to our body. One gram of fat provides 9 kilo calories , more than double what protein and carbohydrates provide.

Another difference with proteins and carbohydrates: lipids are stored in our body  in considerable quantities (in the form of ”  triglycerides”) . These reserves can provide energy to our body during a long-term effort, during an extended fast or between two meals.

# 2 A significant intake of essential fatty acids

# 3 Transport of fat soluble vitamins

But the role of lipids does not stop there: they are essential for our body because they allow the transport of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). Without this, our body could not be supplied with fat-soluble vitamins, which would expose us to serious deficiencies …

# 4 A significant structural role

Lipids are one of the components of the structure of our body’s cells: they form the membranes of our cells.

# 5. … and hormonal

Lipids also participate in the synthesis of certain substances such as hormones .

Fatty acids

From a biochemical point of view, there are 3 types of fatty acids :

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