Question

1. What does the term omega mean with respect to fatty acids? Describe the roles of omega fatty acids in disease prevention.

2. What are the differences between saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids?

3. Describe the structure of a triglyceride.

4. Trace the steps in fat digestion, absorption, and transport. Describe the role cholesterol has in the body.

5. What are the three forms of vitamin A and their function? What is the role of vitamin A in vision, protein synthesis, and cell differentiation?

6. What are the roles of vitamin D in the body?

7. What are the roles of vitamin E in the body?

8. What is an antioxidant and its role in disease and cancer? Which foods are rich in these?

Answer 1

1) Fattty acids are building blocks of the fat in our bodies and in the food we eat. Omega fatty acid is a class of essential fatty acids found in fish oils ( especially in salmon and other cold water fish) that act to lower the level of cholesterol and LDL ( low density lipoproteins). They bind to receptors in cells that regulate genetic function. that ,it have been shown to prevent heart disease and stroke, may help control lupus, eczema and rheumatoid arthritis, and may play protective role in cancers and other conditions.

2) In saturated fatty acids, the carbon chain has maximum number of hydrogen atom attached to every carbon atom. If a pair of hydrogen atoms is missing because of a double bond between two carbon atoms, it is unsaturated fatty acids. A fatty acids with single double bond is monounsaturated fatty acids whereas a fatty acids with more than one double bond is polyunsaturated fatty acids.

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