The+World+Of+Lipids

What the heck are lipids?

Lipids: water-avoiding compounds

Characteristics of Lipids-
 * __Hydrophobic__ or "water-fearing". This means they are unable to mix with water.
 * Contains watery contents of cells.
 * Some types of lipid molecules circulate throughout the body as chemical signals to cells.
 * Contain //oxygen, carbon, hydrogen//
 * Lipids that store energy in your body are called __fats__.

Fats-
 * Consist of a three-carbon backbone called glycerol attached to __three fatty acids__, which contain long hydrocarbon chains.

__What do fats do besides making people, well, FAT?__ Fat is extremely important to the human body. It stores energy, cushions organs and insulates your body (keeps you warm).

__Everyone says that some fats are good for you and some fats are bad, why is that?__ Well, there are two types of fats, //saturated// and //unsaturated//

__*Saturated fats__ are fats in which all three fatty acid chains have the max possible amount of hydrogen atoms. -Examples of saturated fats are animal fats such as fat in steak, lard or butter. These are not necessarily the "good" fats that your health teacher tells you to eat. __*Unsaturated fats__ are fats that contain less than the max amount of hydrogen atoms in its fatty acid chains. Some of there carbon atoms are double-bonded. - These are the fats for the health freaks. They are found in fruits, veggies, fish, olive oil and other foods that your mom forces you to eat.

__Steriods__ are also lipids. They are a lipid molecule with a carbon skeleton that has four fused rings. - They circulate throughout our bodies as chemical signals. -They also make up testosterone, a male sex hormone, and estrogen, a female hormone.
 * Steriods are not only important to pro baseball players, they are also essential to our bodies

__Cholestrol__, that thing that your parents worry about, is actually a steriod as well. -Cholestrol is important to your body because it is the main starting point for the production of steriods. -Excess levels of cholestrol-containing substances in your bloodstream can hinder your body. Thats why cholestrol is linked to heart disease.


 * Lipids are not only important to the human body, but they are also important to plants.

__-Waxes__ are a liquid that has a long-chain acids and fatty acids. They are very important to plants because they protect leaves and helps them obtain water. -__Carnuaba wax__ is a wax essential for keepin' yo ride spiffy. It is found in brazillian palm trees and is used for automobile waxes.