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synergy · 1
All fats are told apart by the same structure: how long the carbon chain is, how many double bonds it has, and where the first one sits. Omega-3 fats are the polyunsaturated family whose first double bond sits at the third carbon from the methyl end, so the rules for classifying fats are also where understanding omega-3 starts.
cofactor · 3
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) is the raw material for coenzyme A. Whether fatty acids are being built or broken down for fuel, they first have to be attached to coenzyme A before they can be moved and processed.
Choline is the raw material for phosphatidylcholine, the phospholipid the liver uses to package fat into very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and ship it out. When choline runs short, the fat cannot be exported and builds up in the liver.
Lutein is fat-soluble: it has to dissolve into the fat droplets in the gut and cross the gut wall along with the fat before it reaches the blood. In Unlu 2005, adding avocado to the same salad clearly raised absorption of lutein, beta-carotene and lycopene. So take a lutein supplement with a meal that contains fat, and give leafy greens a little oil.
regulates · 1
The type of fat you eat affects cardiovascular risk factors such as LDL cholesterol: replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat lowers LDL cholesterol. What the fat is replaced with matters more than the total amount of fat.