Fatty Acids: Structure, Function, and Health Implications

THEY ARE SITTING ON THEIR FATTY ACIDS! 

What Are Fatty Acids? 

Now back to the family. At your last holiday gathering, you were likely to notice many family members just sitting around. In the world of lipids, this phrase has a literal meaning: many lipids are "sitting on their Fatty Acids." Fatty acids are long chains of carbon atoms and are the fundamental building blocks of the lipid family (including Auntie Trigie). Their tail end is the famous OMEGA tail (yes, where we get Omega-3 and Omega-6). Though they may be sitting comfortably now, during times of family stress or distress, they are "released" from their cushy adipose chair and start expending a great deal of energy. When they are circulating freely, we call them FREE FATTY ACIDS. 

The Ugly Sweater Party: Saturated vs. Unsaturated We will now meet our family members who are SATURATED and those that are UNSATURATED. So, imagine them all wearing their Ugly Sweater Party sweaters. The difference is in how many "buttons" are done up on their carbon chain. And how many H’s are printed (saturated)on their sweaters. 

1. SATURATED FATTY ACIDS Think of these members wearing their sweaters completely buttoned up—they are perfectly straight with NO carbon-to-carbon double bonds. These family members just do not bond nicely. Because of this, their carbons are fully saturated with the maximum possible number of Hydrogen (H) atoms. 

• Structure: Straight and rigid. 

• At Room Temperature: They are a solid guy or gal (like butter or lard). 

• Personality: They can have inflammatory personalities. You want fewer of them at dinner. They are associated with a higher weight of Uncle Risky (LDL cholesterol) Whether they increase the actual NUMBER of Uncle Risky people (particles) is important, and more complicated. Certainly they cause inflammation. 

2.  UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS These members are wearing their sweaters with a button or two undone. And they do not have sweaters saturated with the letter H. Wherever a button is undone, they have a carbon-to-carbon double bond. This double bond creates a kink or bend in their shape and means they are not saturated with H-atoms. 

• At Room Temperature: Their bent shape keeps them liquid (like olive oil). 

• Personality: They tend to be very protective of others. Unsaturated members come in two types: 

• Mono-unsaturated: If the sweater has only 1 undone button (one double bond), this member is mono-unsaturated (MUFA). 

  
  

• Poly-unsaturated (Polly): If Polly wears a sweater with more than 1 undone button (multiple double bonds), she is a POLYUNSATURATED fatty acid (PUFA). 

  
  

Polly from the Omega-3 family is a very, very helpful guest and works to keep inflammation low! Omega-6 Polly, however, can sometimes be inflammatory if not balanced by enough Omega-3 cousins. 

The Essentials and The Black Sheep 

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS. YES. Absolutely essential. These two fatty acids MUST be at your party because your body cannot create them on its own. You MUST get them through your diet to survive. The two essential members are Great Grandpa Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) and Great Grandma Linoleic Acid (LA). You would not be alive without them.   

TRANS Fats. TRANS FATS are the black sheep of the family. They are often man-made (hydrogen added to make them more solid) . They are structurally engineered to be straight and rigid, making them act a lot like the inflammatory characters with too many H’s and buttoned up too tight, but even worse. They are banned in the US because they significantly rile up Uncle Risky (LDL) and are outright villains. Hopefully, this member will not show up at the table. They should not be in the country at all. Hopefully, this member will not show up at the table. Be sure they are not hiding in some old room.

So we have learned that our fatty acid family members are not lazy. Some are wonderful and protective such as omega-3 and monounsaturated fatty acids. Others are inflammatory such as saturated fats and trans fats. They can make things difficult at the party. 

Remember this blog is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. If it was helpful, share with others who could learn.