The Fats of Life: Essential Fatty Acids in Health and Disease

297 Pages·2010·1.75 MB·English

by  Glen D. Lawrence

The Fats of Life

The Fats of Life
Essential Fatty Acids
in Health and Disease
GLEN D. LAWRENCE
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, AND LONDON
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Lawrence, Glen D., 1948–
The fats of life : essential fatty acids in health and disease / Glen D. Lawrence.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0-8135–4677–3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Fatty acids in human nutrition. 2. Essential fatty acids—Physiological effect.
I. Title. II. Title: Essential fatty acids in health and disease.
[DNLM: 1. Fatty Acids, Essential—metabolism. 2. Diet. 3. Dietary Fats—metabolism.
4. Health Behavior. 5. Nervous System—metabolism. QU 90 L421f 2010]
QP752.F35L39 2010
612.3'97—dc22
2009020397
CIP
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book
is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2010 by Glen D. Lawrence
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University
Press, 100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this
prohibition is “fair use” as defi ned by U.S. copyright law.
Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
CONTENTS
List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
Preface xi
List of Abbreviations xv
PART ONE
Nutritional, Chemical, and Physiological Properties
of Dietary Fats
1
The Dietary Fat Doctrine 3
2
Lipid Terminology, Structure, and Function 15
3
Some Dietary Fats Are Essential 33
4
Signals, Messengers, and Responses 44
5
Oxidation and Lipid Peroxidation 60
PART TWO
Dietary Fats in Health and Disease
6
Atherosclerosis 73
7
Risk Factors in Cardiovascular Disease 88
8
Lipid-Lowering Drugs 96
9
Infl ammation, Anti-infl ammatory Drugs, 107
and Lipid Mediators
10
Cancer and Immunity 122
11
Neurological Development, Memory, and Learning 138
12
Functional Disorders of the Nervous System 152
13
Neurodegenerative Diseases 166
v
vi CONTENTS
PART THREE
Infl uence of Diet on Overall Health
14 Obesity: Health Consequences and Dietary Infl uences 183
15 Dietary Choices for Comprehensive Health 201
Appendix A Fundamentals of Chemical Bonding and Polarity 215
Appendix B Fatty Acid Composition of Dietary Fats and Oils 219
Appendix C Chemical Structures of Eicosanoids 222
Appendix D Human Lipoproteins: Their Components, 225
Properties, and Associated Proteins
Appendix E Overview of Neuronal Processes 228
Glossary 235
References 249
Index 271
FIGURES
2.1. Four fatty acids 17
2.2. The essential fatty acids 19
2.3. Two triglycerides 20
2.4. Metabolism of linoleic acid to arachidonic acid 22
2.5. Lecithin 23
2.6. Structures of sphingosine and some sphingolipids 24
2.7. Two phosphatides and a phospholipid membrane 25
2.8. The splitting of a phospholipid by phospholipase A2 28
3.1. Metabolism of linolenic acid to docosahexaenoic acid 35
3.2. Metabolism of arachidonic acid to bioactive eicosanoids 36
4.1. The four major receptors for epinephrine and norepinephrine 47
4.2. Splitting of phosphatidyl inositol-4,5-bisphosphate 49
by phospholipase C
4.3. The action of steroid hormones on their nuclear receptors 50
4.4. The role of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin 53
in vascular homeostasis and thrombosis
4.5. Structures of some endocannabinoids 55
5.1. Superoxide anion reacts with hydrogen peroxide 63
to produce hydroxyl radical
5.2. Scheme for lipid peroxidation of linoleic acid 66
5.3. The consequences of oxidative stress on cell membranes, 68
lipoproteins, and DNA
6.1. Atherogenesis 75
6.2. Products formed by oxidation of arachidonate in phospholipids 77
of LDL
6.3. Foam cells in fatty streaks are accessible to apolipoproteins 82
6.4. Lipid oxidation products induce transformation 83
of vascular cells to calcifying-type cells
6.5. Infi ltration by activated leukocytes releases proteases 84
and breaks down the fi brous cap
8.1. Chemical structures of HMGCoA and several common statin drugs 99
9.1. Conversion of salicylic acid to aspirin 108
vii
viii FIGURES
9.2. Synthesis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes 109
from arachidonic acid
9.3. Most NSAIDs inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2 112
9.4. Metabolism of arachidonic acid and EPA 114
by aspirin-modifi ed COX-2
9.5. Physiological actions of prostaglandin E2. 115
9.6. Steroids inhibit release of arachidonic acid 120
from membrane phospholipids
10.1. Carcinogenesis 124
10.2. Angiogenesis can be inhibited by NSAIDs 128
and COX-2 inhibitors
10.3. NSAIDs can promote apoptosis by suppression 129
of prostaglandin E2 production
10.4. Structures of vaccenic acid, linoleic acid, and two 130
of its conjugated isomers
10.5. Anticancer effects of conjugated linoleic acid 132
10.6. Production of mevalonate is inhibited by statin drugs 136
14.1. Relationship of body mass index to hypertension 184
and high blood cholesterol
14.2. Metabolic consequences of lack of exercise and high sugar 197
consumption
A.1. Normal bonding in organic chemistry 215
A.2. Saturated and unsaturated molecules 216
A.3. Neutral molecules 216
A.4. Molecular polarity 217
C.1. Eicosanoids synthesized from arachidonic acid 222
C.2. Eicosanoids synthesized from eicosapentaenoic acid 223
C.3. Eicosanoids synthesized from dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid 224
D.1. Schematic illustration of a lipoprotein particle 226
E.1. Enzymatic conversion of glutamate to GABA 228
E.2. Neuronal excitation 229
E.3. Basic structure of a neuron 230
E.4. Ions and depolarization 231
E.5. Synaptic transmission 232
TABLES
11.1. Important considerations regarding essential fatty acid status 146
of mother and child
14.1. Statistics on per capita consumption of sweeteners, fat, 188
and protein
14.2. Important metabolic consequences of fructose versus glucose 193
14.3. Features of metabolic syndrome 194
B.1. Common fatty acids, their sources, and their melting points 220
B.2. Fatty acid composition of common dietary fats and oils 221
D.1. Composition of lipoproteins found in human blood 226
D.2. Classifi cation of lipoproteins by ultracentrifugation
characteristics 227
D.3. Human apolipoproteins and the lipoproteins with which 227
they are associated
ix