Lipids are synthesized or stored to support the cells and assist in essential processes. Lipids also have many external uses. In addition to the phospholipid role in protecting cells, lipids are at work in many ways in your body. Lipids are integral to the nervous system and found in its myelin sheaths. These are the fatty tissue sleeves that protect your nerve cells and increase the conduction of their impulses.
Lipids make it possible for the body to use vitamins. Lipids help the body to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K:. These are only some of the vital benefits and functions of these important vitamins. Lipids are part of the production of certain hormones including estrogen , testosterone , and cortisol. These play a role in the development of sexual characteristics and are needed to control your immune system and metabolism. They also help to balance your water and sodium levels, control inflammation, and help with your body's resilience and ability to heal.
The main types of lipids include sterols, like cholesterol, and triglycerides. Both of these types are essential to the body at healthy levels. It's when the amounts are outside of normal ranges that these lipids may cause serious health issues.
Lipids play a number of key roles in the body, including protecting cells and allowing for the absorption of certain vitamins. Aside from all of the things the body uses lipids for, they also have other uses in specific industries such as skin care, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
Lipids are used in the cosmetics industry to make various skin care and beauty products, such as lotions and creams. Cosmetics and skincare manufacturers add lipids to products for skin moisturization, protection, and repair, and to help skin seem smoother and more radiant.
Pharmaceutical companies make many drug products that contain lipids. The drugs vary widely and include steroids sterols used to treat diseases like cancer and regulate hormones.
Lipids also are added to certain drugs to help them work better. They may make the drug action last longer, improve drug absorption, or help to target a specific area of the body with the drug. While lipids are essential for both adequate health and the support of your life, too much can put you at a higher risk of liver disease and heart disease. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States and globally.
The World Health Organization estimates A buildup of low-density lipoprotein LDL can cause clogging of the arteries atherosclerosis , which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. High levels of LDL can be avoided by managing cholesterol and saturated fat consumption, and achieving sufficient levels of HDL. Excessive LDL levels are linked with diets rich in fatty meat, fast food, deep-fried foods, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and processed foods.
HDL-promoting foods include fish, olive oil, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and high-fiber fruits. Often called a cholesterol test, a lipid panel tests your blood to determine your levels of cholesterol overall , LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. The results help your healthcare provider determine your risk for cardiovascular diseases and events including heart attacks and strokes. The three types of lipids—phospholipids, sterols, and triglycerides—are needed for many essential functions in the body.
They offer many health benefits. At the same time, triglycerides and cholesterol may pose health risks if levels of these typically beneficial lipids are not kept under control. The foods that you eat can add "bad" LDL cholesterol and boost triglycerides, which may cause health issues. If you're concerned about your lipid levels, contact your healthcare provider. The lipid panel tests will give you the information you need to begin making lifestyle changes, like getting more exercise and changing your diet.
Not all lipids are created equal, and high levels of LDL pose a serious risk. So be sure to look not just at your total cholesterol results, but those for each lipid tested.
Looking to start a diet to better manage your cholesterol? Changing lifelong eating habits can be scary at first, but our guide will make it easier. Biochemistry, lipids. Updated May 9, Antiphospholipid syndrome. Updated February 1, Updated Dietary fats explained.
Updated October 8, Vitamin A: fact sheet for consumers. Updated January 14, When we need extra energy-for instance, when we run a marathon-our bodies use enzymes called lipases to break down the stored triglycerides. The cell's power plants, mitochondria, can then create more of the body's main energy source: adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Arrese works to identify, purify and determine the roles of individual proteins involved in triglyceride metabolism.
Her lab was the first to purify the main fat regulation protein in insects, TGL, and now she is trying to learn what it does. She also discovered the function of a key lipid droplet protein called Lsd1, and she is investigating its sister, Lsd2. Arrese's work could teach us more about disorders like diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Plus, by understanding how insects use fat when they metamorphose and lay eggs and by hypothesizing how to disrupt those processes, her discoveries could lead to new ways for farmers to protect their crops from pests and for health officials to combat mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and West Nile virus.
But before any of that can happen, says Arrese, "We need to study a lot and have information at the molecular level. One of Arrese's challenges is trying to get oily substances like fat to work in lab tests, which tend to be water-based.
However, our cells couldn't function without fat and water's mutual dislike. Cell membranes encase our cells and the organelles inside them. Fat—specifically, cholesterol—makes these membranes possible. The fatty ends of membrane molecules veer away from the water inside and outside cells, while the non-fatty ends gravitate toward it. The molecules spontaneously line up to form a semi-permeable membrane. In between meals and during exercise your body relies on these fats stores to provide energy.
Lipids are also used to insulate and protect your body. You have a layer of fat just below your skin that helps to keep your internal body temperature regular despite the external temperature. Your vital organs, such as the kidneys, have a layer of fat around them that acts like bubble wrap to protect them from injury. Without this lipid layer, every bump and bruise could hurt your organs. Lipids in your body are essential for proper digestion and absorption of food and nutrients.
Bile acids produced from lipids in your liver allow fat and water to mix in your intestines and aid in the breakdown and absorption of food. Lipids are then needed to transport the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K, from your intestines to your blood stream. Your cells use these vitamins to maintain the health of your vision, skin, bones, teeth and blood, according The National Institutes of Health.
The essential lipids, linolenic acid and linoleic acid, are vital to your health; they cannot be made in your body and must come from your diet.
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