Long-Chain Fatty Acids

Dietary fats are categorized by carbon chain length into short-chain, medium-chain, and long-chain fatty acids with distinct sources and physiological roles. Long-chain fatty acids are more readily stored as body fat than coconut oil. Long-chain fatty acids include the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, which the body cannot synthesize. Long-chain fatty acids require bile and pancreatic lipase for digestion. Longchain fatty acids are broken down into glycerol and fatty acids in the duodenum. Longchain fatty acids are not digested in the mouth or stomach and pass through those organs largely unmodified. Bile and pancreatic lipase break down long-chain fatty acids in the small intestine. Long-chain fatty acids use the lymphatic pathway for absorption. Long-chain fatty acids serve two primary roles: supplying energy and contributing to the structural composition of the body including cell membranes. After absorption, longchain fatty acids are stored in the liver for cell membrane function and repair.