Phospholipids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Complex phosphorous-containing lipid compounds that arrange themselves into dual layers, referred to as the “phospholipid bilayer.” One end of the phospholipid molecule attracts water but the other end repels it. Natural phospholipids include lecithin, fat-soluble vitamins, and waxes.
Phosphatidylcholine (PC)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Class of phospholipids that contain choline, a water-soluble vitamin-like essential nutrient. PC is a major structural component of biological membranes, including cell membranes, accounting for 50 percent by weight. PC is made up of 64 percent fatty acids. Lecithin is dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine.
Cholesterol
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Extremely important structural fat occupying 30 to 40 percent of cell membranes, by volume; precursor to hormones and bile acids; necessary for metabolizing fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. In the bloodstream, cholesterol combines with fatty acids to form high-density and low-density lipoproteins (HDL and LDL); present in all parts of the body. Cholesterol is made by the body and obtained from foods.
Fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Key constituents of lipids.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Fatty acids that cannot be made by the body, so they must be obtained from your foods. Omega-3 and omega-6 are the two types.
Saturated fatty acids (SFAs)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Most commonly found in animal products, saturated fats are the most stable fats because they have no double bonds in the fatty acid chain. They are nonessential to your body (not bioactive) and tend to be solid at room temperature.
Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Fatty acids with one double bond in the fatty acid chain; nonessential fats (not bioactive). Macadamia nut oil is highest in MUFAs (see “Omega-7”); other MUFAs include olives, avocados, peanuts, and their oils. MUFA oils are liquid at room temperature and semisolid or solid when refrigerated.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Fatty acids with two or more double bonds in the fatty acid chain; they include omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
Unsaturated fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Omega-6 fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Important structural elements in cell membranes and precursors to bioactive lipid mediators; energy source; involved in gene expression.
Linoleic acid (LA)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: A primary PUFA and the most abundant omega-6. Primary support for cell membranes, cardiolipin, and mitochondria. Derived mostly from seeds and seed oils (raw sunflower seeds, high-linoleic sunflower oil, and high-linoleic safflower oil, nuts including pine nuts, sesame seeds). Damaged LA is found in commercial products due to heavy heating and processing (canola oil, for one), which has none of the health benefits and is destructive to cell membranes.
Arachidonic acid (AA)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: A PUFA comprising 14 percent of the lipids in cell membranes and represents the largest concentration of lipid energy in the body. Described as the “CEO of the metabolic corporation”; used to make essential series 2 prostaglandins, which are your primary eicosanoids, crucial for inflammatory processes. Necessary for thought, motion, sensory perception, DNA, fetal development, and much more. Mostly animal sources (meat, butter, cream).
Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: A PUFA that promotes fat-burning by activating brown fat. The body converts LA into GLA and eventually into inflammatory series I prostaglandins. GLA can be converted into AA but only with difficulty. Natural sources of GLA include black currant seed oil (15 percent), borage oil (not recommended), hemp seeds, and evening primrose oil.
Omega-3 fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Important structural components of cell membranes and precursors to bioactive lipid mediators. An energy source. Involved in gene expression.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Long-chain PUFA used primarily to make prostaglandins. Primarily marine sources.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Long-chain PUFA used by brain, nervous system, eyes. Primarily marine sources.
Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Primary PUFA building block for EPA and DHA. Approximately 85 percent of ALA is used by the body for energy. Sources include flaxseeds and flax oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and oil, and perilla seed oil (54 to 64 percent).
Parent Essential Oils (PEOs)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: The whole, unadulterated, and fully functional forms of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic and alpha-linoleic). Top sources are nuts and seeds and their oils.
Omega-9 fatty acids (oleic acid)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Nonessential MUFA found in olives, macadamias, avocados, almonds, pecans, cashews, and other nuts. Olive oil is praised for its health benefits, but the benefits are probably the result of polyphenols in olive oil, not the MUFAs.
Omega-7 fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Another MUFA. One unique form, palmitoleic acid, has copious benefits for metabolic syndrome and heart health. Sources of palmitoleic acid include macadamia nuts, sea buckthorn, and deep sea anchovies.
Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: A.k.a. medium-chain fatty acids; MCTs have 6 to 12 carbon atoms. Helpful for fat burning and stimulating metabolism. Rapidly broken down and absorbed by the body, going straight to the liver for use as energy (ketones), and not requiring bile for digestion; therefore, less likely to be stored as fat. Alternative energy source for the brain, which normally uses glucose for fuel. MCTs are found in coconut oil (60 percent), palm kernel oil (50 percent), and dairy (10–12 percent).
Cis fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Fats with biologically compatible molecular structures, rounded or bent so they help form a proper barrier in the wall of the cell membrane.
Trans fatty acids
LIPID LINGO GLOSSARY: Fats that have been “bent out of shape”—abnormally straightened—by heat and/or hydrogenation. Trans fats transect cell walls, increasing their permeability and leaving them open to invasion by viruses, bacteria, and foreign substances, and vulnerable to loss of essential nutrients. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as margarine and butter substitutes, are toxic to cells and distort many of their normal physiological functions.