What are fatty acids made up of?
Fatty acids or lipids are long chain hydrocarbons, usually ending with the chemical structure of -COOH. They are organic molecules that are highly active but insoluble in water (1) There are two main types of fatty acids: Saturated fatty acids ( for example those found in dairy food ) which are known to raise the amount of LDLs and decrease the amount of HDLs ** and unsaturated fatty acids ( for example those found in plant seeds ) **HDLs remove cholesterol from the blood ( see source 1 for more information about these two types of fatty acids ) There are two fatty acids that humans cannot make themselves and must come from our diet – linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid – found in plant and fish oil.
