Good or Bad lipids and their effect on human body

 Lipids are a heterogeneous group of water- soluble (hydrophobic) organic molecules.They serve additional functions in the body. Deficiencies or imbalances of these lipids can lead to some of the major health problems such as atherosclerosis. 

Good lipids ( unsaturated )

• They activate genes that burn calories, increase metabolism and improve insulin activity. 
• Polyunsaturated fats are known as “essential fats” because the body cannot make them and needs to get them from foods. Plant-based foods and oils are the primary source of this fat.
• The group of good lipids are part of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: they are powerful anti-inflammatory agents and are found in salmon, mackerel, sardines, flax and walnuts 
• Monounsaturated fats improve your cholesterol level and sugar level in the blood, decreasing risks for cardiovascular diseases and are found in olives, almonds ,Brazil nuts , cashews, avacado and in sesame seeds 
• Some vitamins require fat (Good fat) in order to dissolve into your bloodstream and provide nutrients
• The fat present in our body also takes part in thermoregulation by keeping us warm. 
• The brown fat, Blubber is a thick layer of fat directly under the skin of marine mammals like whales, seals ,walruses,which helps them in thermoregulation and to survive extremely cold environment.

Bad lipids  

There are two types as described below:

• saturated fat
•  trans fat (which is potentially harmful for our body.) 
• Most of the food that contains these type of fats are solid at room temperature such as: margarine ,beef or pork fat.Trans fat appears in food that contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. These are the worst fat for you. You might find these in fried food,baked items (pastries,cookies etc).Trans fat can raise LDL(bad) cholesterol, suppressing HDL(good) cholesterol levels.
• A diet rich in saturated fats ( red meat, whole milk, cheese ,coconut oil) can drive up total cholesterol, and tip the balance toward more harmful LDL cholesterol, which prompts blockages to form in arteries in the heart and elsewhere in the body. For that reason, most nutrition experts recommend limiting saturated fat to under 10% of calories a day.
• Bad lipids inhibit genes that burn fat and hence cause the accumulation of fat in our body leading to obesity,