Nutrition: Fats & Lipids

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the structure, classes, dietary roles, food sources, and health impacts of fats and lipids based on the HOSA Canada Nutrition presentation.

Lipids

The chemical name for fats, which are organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Glycerides

Dietary fats composed of fatty acids attached to a glycerol base.

Triglyceride

The chemical name for natural fats that have three fatty acids attached to a glycerol base, representing the majority of dietary fats.

Saturated Fatty Acid

A heavy and dense fatty acid in which each carbon is filled with a hydrogen; solid at room temperature and primarily of animal origin.

Unsaturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid that is less heavy and less dense than saturated fats, remaining liquid at room temperature.

Essential Nutrient

A nutrient whose absence creates a specific deficiency disease, or one that the body cannot manufacture in sufficient amounts and must obtain from the diet.

Lipoproteins

Combinations of triglycerides, protein (apoprotein), phospholipids, cholesterol, and other fat-soluble substances that serve as the major vehicles for lipid transport in the bloodstream.

Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL)

Lipoproteins that transport fat and cholesterol to cells.

High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL)

Lipoproteins that transport free cholesterol from body tissues back to the liver for breakdown and excretion.

Atherosclerosis

An underlying blood-vessel disease closely associated with all lipoproteins and the excessive intake of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat.

Phospholipids

Triglyceride derivatives in which one fatty acid has been replaced with a phosphate group, forming amphiphilic molecules.

Amphiphilic Molecule

A molecule that contains both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions.

Lecithin

A key lipid substance produced by the liver that consists of glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids; serves as a building block for cell membranes and facilitates lipid transport.

Eicosanoids

Signaling hormones that act as messengers for the central nervous system (CNS) and control multiple functions, including immunity and the inflammatory response.

Sterols

An amphipathic subgroup of steroids that plays roles in membrane fluidity and cellular signaling.

Phytosterols

Sterols produced by plants.

Zoosterols

Sterols produced by animals, of which cholesterol is the most prominent.

Cholesterol

The most important zoosterol; adds fluidity to cell membranes, serves as a precursor for hormones, and plays vital roles in human metabolism.

Adipose Tissue

Body fat stored in various locations that provides insulation for body temperature regulation, pads vital organs and bones, and composes myelin sheaths.

Myelin Sheaths

Insulating structures surrounding some neurons that are largely composed of adipose tissue.

Satiety

A feeling of fullness and satisfaction experienced after a meal, promoted by the slower rate of digestion of fats.

Fat Substitutes

Compounds designed to mimic the properties of dietary fats that are not absorbed by the body and contribute little to no kilocalories.

Visible Fat

Apparent and easily identifiable dietary fats (e.g., butter, margarine, salad dressings, and meat fat trimmings) that are simpler to control in the diet.

Invisible Fat

Dietary fats that are integrated into food matrices and cannot be trimmed or separated (e.g., cheese, nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, and homogenized milk), making them harder to control.

Trans-Fatty Acids

Dietary fats—often from synthetic sources like partially hydrogenated oils—whose consumption elevates total cholesterol and LDL levels while reducing HDL levels.