Nutrition 101
Week 4 Assignment
Study questions
1. What features distinguish fatty acids from each other? Fatty acids are distinguished by the length of their carbon chains, degree of unsaturation and their location of double bonds. Most are triglycerides with glycerol backbones and three fatty acids attached.
2. What are the differences between saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids? Describe the structure of a triglyceride. Saturated fats are fully saturated with hydrogen atoms and do not contain any double bonds with carbon atoms, they are solid at room temperature …show more content…
Unsaturated fats have no hydrogen atoms and have at least one double bond between carbons, they are liquid at room temperature and are known for being a heart healthy fat. Unsaturated fats are commonly found in olive oil and canola oil. Both Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats are types of unsaturated fats, the differences between the two are in their length of carbon chains. Polyunsaturated fats have two or more double bonds as appose to the monounsaturated fats that have one double bond. Triglycerides are composed of a molecule glycerol and three fatty acids attached, it is the main form of fat in the body.
3. What does hydrogenation do to fats? What are trans-fatty acids, and how do they influence heart disease? Hydrogenation process makes fats more saturated (solid) and protects them from oxidation giving them a prolonged shelf life. Trans-fatty acids have their hydrogens on the opposite side of the double bond, this is rarely found in