Biochemistry: Lipids
- Breaking down of Lipids
Microbes to produce energy carry the breaking down of lipids. The breaking down of lipids uses a concept of fatty acid metabolism, which occurs through the process of oxidation. In this process, the organic acid metabolism atom will expand on a metabolic pathway to facilitate the degradation and utilization of lipids. The triglycerides as complex lipids are first hydrolyzed using hydrolytic enzymes, lipases, to release fatty acids. The fatty acids released enter a dedicated pathway to be processed to yield acetyl-CoA (O’Malley, 2014). This metabolite transmits carbon atoms to the Krebs cycle for oxidation to produce energy.
- Differences between saturated and unsaturated Fatty Acids
A saturated fatty acid has the maximum hydrogen atoms attached to every carbon atom. It is known as a saturated fatty acid since it is saturated with saturated with hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated fatty acids are those fatty acids that have hydrogen atoms are missing in the middle of a chain bond. This gap created by the missing hydrogen atoms leaves two carbon atoms attached to a double bond instead of a single bond. Saturated fatty acids have single bonds while unsaturated fatty acids have double bonds (Sanders, 2013).
- How no-fat Diets affect the Body
No-fat diets will lead to vitamin deficiencies since majority of the vitamins are fat-soluble. The body stores these vitamins in fatty tissue and the liver. Fat-soluble vitamins are present in fat diets and lack of this diet would cause a deficiency of the vitamins. No-fat diet may lower the blood HDL levels. Lack of good cholesterol or low blood HDL levels increases the risk of cardiovascular problems and stroke. Lack of a fatty diet may lead to cell formation and function problem. The lipid molecules are useful in the building of membranes that protect and enclose the body cells (Sanders, 2013).
References
Sanders, J (2013). Fatty acid structure
O’Malley, M (2014). Fatty acid oxidation leads to ATP production