Our emphasis will be on three concepts of chemistry in this Olestra unit. Energy available can be determined from The type and amount of food we eat 2. Enzymes enable our bodies to metabolize foods 3. We show a molecular formula, a structural formula and a ball and stick representation of a saturated fat. In the ball and stick model, C is gray, H is white, O is red.
Cylinders represent single and double bonds.
Food and Biomolecules Our story of food and its legion of different molecules is also largely the story of many of the biomolecules that all living things, and we, are made from. The hair we care so much about is made of protein molecules. The different DNA, which leads to all of the variety of life, is made from a sugar or carbohydrate, a base, and a phosphate group. The molecules that, along with proteins, make up the membranes of all our cells, and the extra pounds that we might want to shed, are fats or lipids. Additionally, there are many vitamins and nutrients that do not fall in these three categories but often are often precursors or vital components.