LipidsNutrients are the chemicals that humans need to live and grow. Humans get their nutrients from the food and water they drink. They are used to build and repair tissues and regulate bodily processes and are converted and used as energy. Lipids are a category of nutrients. Lipids are made up of fats, oils and waxes and are very important for the health of the body. Lipids are important to the human body because they serve to store energy, they are effective at storing energy because they can concentrate a group of calories in a smaller area. Lipids have many functions. One of the main functions of lipids is as structural components of the cell. Lipids make up about 50% of the mass of most cell membranes. Lipids present in the cell membrane are called phospholipids. Phospholipids are the predominant lipids of the cell membrane. Phospholipids aggregate or self-assemble when mixed with water, but in a different way than soaps and detergents. Due to the two dangling alkyl chains in phospholipids and unusual mixed charges in their head groups, micelle formation is unfavorable compared to a bilayer structure. Fatty acids are another type of lipids. The common characteristic of fatty acids is that they are all esters of moderate to long chain fatty acids. Two polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and linoleic, are designated "essential" because their absence in the human diet has been linked to health problems, such as scaly skin, stunted growth, and increased dehydration. These acids are also precursors to prostaglandins, a family of physiologically potent lipids found in trace amounts in most body tissues. Another group of lipids is found in soups and detergents. These lipids are also known as car...... middle of paper ....generation of their unsaturated components. Some of the remaining double bonds are isomerized during this operation. These glycerides of saturated and trans fatty acids found in the diet have been linked to long-term health problems such as atherosclerosis. There are many more lipids than I mentioned in my research paper, there are over 100 known lipids. Lipids are very important for our body and our cells and perform many functions. They provide nutrients to our body. Lipids are a category of nutrients. Lipids are made up of fats, oils and waxes and are very important for the health of the body. Lipids are important to the human body because they serve to store energy, they are effective at storing energy because they can concentrate a group of calories in a smaller area. Lipids are also used to make soaps, detergents and waxes. These are things we use in everyday life.