4.17: Putting It Together- Important Biological Macromolecules

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A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: pb.libretexts.org/bionm1/?p=148

Now that we’ve learned about the different macromolecules our bodies need and use, let’s return to our the questions we asked at the beginning of the chapter about healthy diets:

Think about It

Is it even possible for a person to cut all carbs out of his or her diet?
Is it actually healthy to remove an entire class of molecules from the diet?
Fats and cholesterol are strictly bad—right?

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It is, in fact, impossible to have a no carb or no fat diet. These molecules are in all cells and cells makes up what we eat. More importantly though, each of these biological macromolecules has a very important role to play. If you cut too much fat from your diet, for example, it is possible for your fat stores dip low enough that your hair will fall out!

Even the much maligned cholesterol is a requirement for a healthy body and lifestyle: without sufficient cholesterol, your body doesn’t make enough sex hormones (estrogen or testosterone depending on if you’re male or female). The trick is to make healthy choices overall without too much of any biological macromolecules—after all, there can certainly be too much of a good thing.

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Contributors and Attributions

Authored by: Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution