Fatty acids are the building blocks of oils and fats , which are also known as lipids. There are similarly, two fatty acids in each of the millions of phospholipids that make up your cell membranes. Fatty acids that contain no double bonds are saturated . Fats are the most concentrated energy source in our diets, furnishing about 2.5 times the energy that sugar does, gram for gram. We store energy for future use in fats.
Fats also insulate and protect the body and many internal organs.
Nutritionists also recommend lowering the proportion of saturated fats and increasing the proportion of polyunsaturated fats to reduce heart disease and artherosclerosis . Paste your fatty acids below. Label each fatty acid and underneath it draw an alternative representation as shown in Figure 5 above. The membranes of cells and organelles are made of phospholipids. Phospholipids are amphipathic molecules that have a polar phosphate group at one end and two non polar fatty acids at the other, held together by a glycerol molecule.