Fats in nutrition

Investigation of the relationship of diet to blood lipids and atherosclerosis has dominated the field of lipid nutritional biochemistry for the past 25 years. Although this subject has consumed considerable time, effort, and research funds, it has also proved beneficial to other areas of lipid biochemistry by attracting qualified people to the field and by initiating development of sophisticated methodology and instrumentation required for progress in those areas. The development of capillary gas–liquid chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, together with more extensive computer control and processing of data, should accelerate progress in all areas of lipid biochemistry. In the next 25 years, I expect to see extensive investigation of dietary hydrogenated fats and their constituent isomeric fatty acids. Specificity of deposition in animal tissues, effects on blood lipids and coronary heart disease, and their relationship to polyunsaturated fatty acids and prostaglandins are among the topics likely to receive attention. The prostaglandins, prostacyclins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes will continue to receive attention in the near future, and the role of diet in modulating the concentrations of these compounds in blood and other body tissues is a promising area of active research. The discovery of abnormalities in polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in pathological conditions in man has renewed interest in these dietary components. Association of neurological abnormalities with lack of linolenic acid metabolites should stimulate further investigation of the role of the n-3 series acids in central nervous system function.