Cecil says that a diet containing fish oil results in lower levels of triglyceride.
“Triglycerides are thought to increase the risk of heart disease.”
But doesn’t Triglyceride refer to -all- of our dietary fat? That is, a glycerol ‘backbone’ on which there are found three ‘chains’ of fatty acids? That’s what my nutrition textbook is telling me, anyway.
The writer described monounsaturated fatty acids in fish oil, but I think what he probably meant was polyunsaturated. The big buzzword with fish oils are the Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are shown to reduce the amount of LDL (the ‘bad’) cholesterol in the blood arguably better than monounsaturated fat.
True, almost all fat consumed and stored in the body are in the form of triglycerides. But “levels of triglycerides” refers specifically to the amount of triglycerides in the blood. A diet high in carbs and saturated fat can raise blood triglyceride levels. A diet high in unsaturated fat can lower blood triglyceride levels.
Sterols are a type of steroid. You are probably thinking of the anabolic steroids that are of great concern in athletic circles. The latter are often referred to as simply “steroids”, but the term “steroid” is used to refer to a broad class of lipids characterized by four fused carbon rings. This includes cholesterol, hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, and corticosteroids, as well as anabolic steroids.
And more specifically, eicosapentanic acid (EPA), one of the omega-3 fatty acids. Flaxseed has been touted as a substitute, but it contains alphalineolenic acid (ALA) and the body does not readily convert this to EPA. For more see http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,992,00.html
And there are also phopholipids, which consist of a glycerol backbone also, but with one of the fatty acids replaced with a hydrophilic phosphate group. These are major components of cell membranes, with the hydrophilic phosphate heads aligned outward toward the aqueous cytoplasm and the hydrophobic fatty acid tails aligning inward.
This may be true, but polyunsaturated fats also have a reputation for reducing your HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels as well as reducing your LDL cholesterol levels.
Gad! I’ve seen margarine with fish oil. I’ve seen low cholesterol sorta-egg product with fish oil. Listen, folks. Those things should not taste like fish oil, even remotely. :eek: