Fats

Fats are made up of the elements of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Fats are very high in energy and make up parts of your cells. The fatty tissue in your body also protects your organs and helps to insulate you.

There are two major categories of fats: unsaturated and saturated. The word "saturated" refers to the chemical structure and shape of the fat molecule. the difference in structure affect the temperature at which it will melt, called its melting point.

If a carbon doesn't have a hydrogen attached to it, then the molecule is called //unsaturated.// If all the carbons have hydrogens attached to them then the fat molecule is called //saturated//.


 * || [[image:Picture_24.png width="403" height="396" caption="Ths is a diagram of a saturated fat called palmitic acid."]] || The white sections are hydrogens which are attached to the grey carbons. The red sections are oxygens.

Saturated fats are molecules that have a straight shape and can line up next to each other and can connect to each other forming a solid. They are mainly animal fats and are usually solid at room temperature, for example the fat you see in meats or chicken and the yolk of an egg are solid saturated fats. Some plant oils, however, can have a high amount of saturated fats, for example palm oil. ||  ||

[|how fat cells work]

Unsaturated fat molecules are a little crooked and can not get too close to other fat molecules, and for that reason they remain as a liquid at room teperature. They are usually plant oils, for example corn oil, canola oil, or olive oil are unsaturated fats.There are two types of unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Mono- means one and poly- means many.


 * Your body can store fat in fat cells from the fats you eat or it can change carbohydrates you eat and do not use for energy, into fat and store it. The fat cells store fat as droplets and grow larger as the amount of stored fat increases. || [[image:Picture_25.png width="384" height="114" caption="http://www.grow.uwcalscommunication.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/fat-cells-web.jpg"]] ||


 * [[image:weight-2.gif width="360" height="313" align="left" caption="dellonutritionals.com/ images/weight-2.gif"]] || One of the jobs of fat in your body is to protect the internal organs, for example your heart and liver. In this picture, the yellow is the internal fat tissue, made up of fat cells. The man on the right has enough fat to protect his organs. The men in the middle and on the left have too much fat. ||

Most foods contain some fat, so you want to try to eat the "good fats" in moderation and stay away from the "bad fats". Look at the tables below to see some of the foods that have "good fats" and "bad fats".

Polyunsaturated fats || nuts and seeds, olive oil, peanut oil, avocados nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, (for example: sunflower oil, corn oil) ||
 * Types of "Good Fats" || Foods that have this fat ||
 * Monounsaturated fats
 * Omega-3 fatty acids || cold-water fish (for example: salmon and herring ) walnuts ||


 * Types of "Bad Fats" || Foods that have this fat ||
 * Saturated || Animal products (for example: meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and tropical oils (for example palm oil) ||
 * Trans Fat || Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, commercial baked good (for example: cookies and snack cakes) fried food and margarine ||  ||
 * Cholesterol || Animal products (for example: meat, poultry, seafood, eggs ||