The word lipids is a generic term for a compound that contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and is insoluble in water. Two vital lipids in the body are lipoproteins and phospholipids. Fat is also a generic term, but the word fat usually refers to triglycerides, according to the book “Nutrition and You” by Joan Salge Blake, clinical associate professor at Boston University's Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Your body uses lipids, fats and carbohydrates in different ways to maintain homeostasis.
Lipoproteins
Lipoproteins are carrier molecules that deliver cholesterol to your tissues. Although cholesterol is given a bad reputation, it helps your body make the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen, as well as vitamin D and bile acids. Because cholesterol is not soluble in water, it cannot travel in your blood by itself. Lipoproteins, which are composed of an inner compartment of lipids and an outer layer of protein, pick up cholesterol and carry it through your blood to your tissues.
Phospholipids
Phospholipids are the most distinctive type of lipid in your body. Phospholipids contain a water-loving head and a water-fearing tail. This distinctive composition allows phospholipids to create an important structure called the phospholipid bilayer. Phospholipids line up with their heads facing inward and outward toward the watery layers of your cells and their tails facing each other in the middle. This membrane acts as a barrier to allow certain substances, such as water, into your cells, and keep other substances, like protein, from leaving your cells.
Fats
Your body uses fats, or triglycerides, in several ways. Fat helps your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Without fat in your diet, these vitamins would be lost in your urine. Your body also uses fat to maintain your body temperature. A layer of fat underneath your skin helps insulate your body, keeping in or releasing heat when necessary. Your body also uses fat as a protective mechanism. Fat cushions your major organs, softening the blow from any falls or trauma. Fat also serves as a backup energy source. Your body stores triglycerides in adipose, or fat, tissue. Between meals, your body releases these triglycerides to provide you with energy.
Carbohydrates
Your body uses carbohydrates for its main energy source. Carbohydrates contain the simple sugar glucose, which enters your bloodstream from your small intestine during the digestive process. The hormone insulin picks up glucose in the bloodstream and carries it to your cells, where it provides your body with energy. Carbohydrates also keep your brain, central nervous system, kidneys and muscles functioning properly.
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