Lipids & Fats Risks

Lipids, also called fats, are organic compounds found in foods. Lipids differ in chemical structure and depending on their properties, can either enhance your health or increase your risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions. Too much fat in your diet may increase your weight, yet too little may increase your risk of dry, scaly skin and poor wound healing. Consult your nutritionist about your health and fat content in your diet.

Healthy Fats

Alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid are essential fatty acids that you require from foods because your body is unable to synthesize these substances. Alpha-linolenic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid naturally found in a few plant-based foods that include flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts and oils, such as flaxseed, soybean and canola. Your body can convert alpha-linolenic acid into longer chain omega-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaneoic acid and docosahexaneoic acid. You can also obtain eicosapentaneoic acid and docosahexaneoic acid from fatty fish, such as salmon and herring. Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid found in vegetable oils, such as safflower, corn and sunflower, in different concentrations, depending on the oil. Your body can convert linoleic acid into two other omega-6 fatty acids called gamma-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid. Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids. Monounsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid and palmitoleic acid, are also healthy fats found in olive oil, pumpkin seeds, pecans, peanuts and avocados.

Unhealthy Fats

Saturated fat and trans fat are unhealthy fats that increase your risk of chronic diseases. Harvard School of Public Health says you do not need to consume any saturated fat from foods because your body can make what it requires for normal function. However, consuming saturated fats from foods, such as meat, poultry, dairy, and coconut and palm oil, can elevate your blood cholesterol. Trans fat is thick and solid at room temperature and can clog your arteries. Food manufacturers make trans fat by hydrogenating vegetable oils for use in industrially processed products that include margarine, breads, cakes, snack foods, french fries and doughnuts. Fast food restaurants may also use trans fats in preparing meals.

Heart Disease Risk

Consuming too little healthy fats, particularly omega-3 and monounsaturated fatty acids, and too much unhealthy fat can increase your risk of heart disease. High total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, and low HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol, are indicators of risk. Unhealthy fats together with cholesterol form plaque, which builds up inside your arteries, blocks the flow of oxygenated blood to your heart and increases your risk of heart attack.

Depression Risk

The quality of dietary fat may affect your risk of depression. Research by scientists at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, published in the Public Library of Science journal "PLoS One" in 2011, discovered that consumption of trans fats increases the risk of depression, whereas consumption of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats reduces risk. The research found that consuming olive oil reduces the risk.