Knowra Dietary fat Dietary fat Dietary fat is the fat consumed in food, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. It supplies energy, provides essential fatty acids, and helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Fatty acid : A molecule with a hydrocarbon chain and a carboxyl group; fatty acids are components of many dietary fats. The chain’s length and double bonds help determine a dietary fat’s properties.
Fat digestion : The breakdown of dietary lipids into smaller molecules that can be absorbed by the intestine. Bile and enzymes make dietary fat accessible to intestinal absorption.
Mediterranean diet : A dietary pattern emphasizing vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil, with limited red meat. Its emphasis on unsaturated-fat-rich foods illustrates one established dietary pattern.
Carbohydrate : A class of compounds, including sugars, starches, and fiber, that serves as a major dietary energy source. Carbohydrates provide energy but differ from fat in structure and energy density.
Triglyceride : A molecule made of glycerol bonded to three fatty acids; most fat in food and body fat is stored this way. Most dietary fat arrives as triglycerides that digestion breaks into absorbable components.
Bile : A digestive fluid produced by the liver that helps emulsify fats in the small intestine. Bile disperses dietary fat into droplets that digestive enzymes can act on.
Dietary reference intake : A system of nutrient intake standards used to assess and plan diets for healthy populations. Reference values frame recommendations for total fat and essential fatty acids.
Protein : A nutrient made of amino acids that builds and maintains body tissues and performs many cellular functions. Protein has structural and functional roles that dietary fat does not replace.
Saturated fat : Fat containing fatty acids with no carbon–carbon double bonds. Its fatty acids have no double bonds, distinguishing this major dietary-fat type.
Pancreatic lipase : An enzyme secreted by the pancreas that hydrolyzes triglycerides into fatty acids and monoacylglycerols. It performs much of the chemical breakdown of triglycerides during digestion.
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