Yep. Storage lipids in animals is just called fat. In ruminants, it is saturated, in plants the storage lipid is called oils and many of them are unsaturated. Not all animal fat is unsaturated. Fish, for example, have omega-3 fatty acids, which are unsaturated (and also essential).
Complex, or structural lipids, have something else other than long chains of fatty acids, and there are different types. You have phospholipids and spingolipids that work in cell membranes, glycolipids that can be antibodies, waxes that have a nonglycerol alcohol component, lipoproteins that carry other lipids around the blood stream, propenyl compounds such as bile and steroid precursors, eicosanoids that form prostaglandin, spices that are originally a plant’s defense mechanism (too bad they taste good ), and pheromones. Some of these storage lipids may still have a chain or two of fatty acids, and that fatty acid can be saturated or unsaturated, depending on the type of lipid.
Also, since these are not energy storage lipids, they don’t yield as much energy as fat. In the ases of some lipids, they don’t contribute any energy, due to their composition (wax).
Sorry, not meat, exactly–FRESH meat. The very old, freakishly preserved stuff they ate rarely had much vitamin C left in it, and they also often subsisted more on breadstuffs (hardtack, etc.), which pretty much had zero nutritional content of any kind.
As far as the fat issue, it gets even more complicated when you start looking at the length of the fatty acids involved in a trygliceride. MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) are all the rage now because they digest quickly enough that they don’t go into storage.
I think what’s lost in here is the healthy usage of fruits and veggies that really offer more than just carbs, I am talking fiber.
Okay, my step-mom, Mrs. HealthNut. Huge health nut.
In recent years of the high-protein, low carb kick, she has found as I have said over the years that moderation is the key.
Our bodies need carbs but not the shit we see with Twinkies or even that Barilla pasta. Whole carbs are so much more different than their cousins because we can actually digest them and they don’t become an insulin nightmare.
Do I think, in an opinion, that people can survive on proteins only? Sure. I also think that people can survive on shit foods alone like sugars and processed flours. The issue is, and this is most critical, can we survive in a way that offers us more virgin foods like organic meat and veggies INCLUDING non-processed meats.
I mean honestly, we all could figure out a way to live a life to suit our whims. To live a life that is more wholesome is more what we should be striving for. I don’t even know why I am responding to this but yes, would could live on an all protein diet but our lives would be shorter and possibly not as good. If people want a more energetic and a more productive life, things would include; water, fresh veggies, organic meats, cheeses and such and the occasional indulgence like ICE CREAM.
We can’t live a perfect life but incorporating those things that are as organic as possible (and think of the Inuit peoples who spent an entire winter on protein only) you can be healthy. But also, as with anything in life, moderation is key…too much of anything can be bad for your system…and to my friends that are vegetarian, I am sorry, I live a mostly vegetarian lifestyle and frankly I do feel better when I incorporate some form of animal protein in my diet at least once a week. The weeks I don’t, I am off kilter and actually kinda crabby.
I am trying to find a reference to a himalayan(?) tribe I read about where after puberty the men will basically only eat meat.
The upshot was a tendency to stink and die in your early to mid twenties…
Anyone else remember this or am I off in fantasy land (again)?
For what it is worth, a cursory examination of our teeth, tongue and digestive tract makes it pretty obvious that we are indeed omnivores - but with a preponderance towards vegetative matter (aka. opportunistic omnivores). The neanderthal example is not reliable as I believe they had a noticeably different digestive tract to modern humans (c.f. appendix).
As others have noted: There is life, then there is quality of life…
And as others have also noted: Moderation is the key, even water and glucose become toxic if enough is consumed.
Techchick–the OP clearly says “exist”, and the subsequent talk is all about survival, not dying of scurvy, etc. So while any narrow diet is obviously not the BEST choice, we’re not talking about “what makes a good diet?” in any way, shape, or form–rather, “why don’t carnivores keel over?”
Just to reinforce kanicbird, gluconeogenesis is very real. The brain is not the only tissue that can only use glucose as fuel–all nerve tissues, red blood cells, the kidney medulla, and the testes lack the ability to use other fuels. If gluconeogenesis didn’t occur, you’d die after about a day of fasting, because that’s how long your body’s glycogen reserves last (glycogen being a polymer of glucose). Although it is essentially the reverse of glycolysis (the breakdown of glucose), different enzymes are involved. And since glycolysis produces energy, it would be intuitive that it takes energy to run gluconeogenesis. This is where fats come in–the energy from the beta-oxidation of fatty acids is what drives gluconeogenesis. Nitrogens are stripped off of amino acids, most of which have the same carbon skeletons as intermediates in the glycolysis process. For tissues that don’t need glucose, these intermediates are fed into the ATP-producing process. The use of amino acids as fuel causes a lot of nitrogenous wastes to build up, which can lead to kidney problems if your body can’t dispose of them properly.
Other sources for precursors to the gluconeogenesis process are lactate (from anaerobic glycolysis), glycerol (from the breakdown of fatty acids), and propionate (from the breakdown of fatty acids that have an odd number of carbons).
I thought this whole process was incredibly nifty when I first learned it in biochemistry. After reading about all your body goes through to make glucose for itself, I decided that no/extremely-low carb diets were probably not a good plan. But YMMV.
I used this page to jog my memory, as I don’t have my biochem book with me right now.
), and pheromones. Some of these storage lipids may still have a chain or two of fatty acids, and that fatty acid can be saturated or unsaturated, depending on the type of lipid.