Lipids or Fats

LIPIDS OR FATS

Fats belong to a group of organic compounds called lipids. The word lipid is derived from lipos, a Greek word for fat. Forms of this word are found in several fat-related health terms such as blood lipids (fats in the blood), hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood), and lipoproteins (carriers of fat in human blood).

Fats are greasy substances that are not soluble in water. They are soluble in some solvents such as ether, benzene, and chloroform. They provide a more concentrated source of energy than carbohydrates; each gram of fat contains 9 calories. This is slightly more than twice the calorie content of carbohydrates. Fat-rich foods are generally more expensive than carbohydrate-rich foods. Like carbohydrates, fats are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen but with a substantially lower proportion of oxygen.