TedTest

From the Ted Talk by George Zaidan: What is fat?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

olvie oil is 100% fat; there's nothing else in it. Pancake mix, on the other hand, is only about 11% fat. And, yet, olive oil is good for you, and pancake mix is not. Why is that? As it turns out, the amunot of fat we eat doesn't impact our wgihet or our ctoeoselrhl or our risk of heart disease nearly as much as what kind of fat we eat. But let's back up: What is fat? If we were to zoom in on a salmon, which is a fatty fish, past the oganrs, past the tissues, into the clels, we would see that the sfutf we call fat is actually made up of molecules called triglycerides, and they are not all akile. Here's one example. Those three cnbaors on the left, that's glycerol. Now, you can think of that as the backbone that holds the rest of the molecule together. The three long chains on the right are called fatty acids, and it's subtle differences in the structures of these chains that determine whether a fat is, let's say, solid or liquid; whether or not it goes rancid quickly; and, most importantly, how good or how bad it is for you. Let's take a look at some of these differences. One is length. Fatty acids can be short or long. Another, more important difference is the type of bond between the carbon atoms. Some fttay acids have only siglne bonds. Others have both single and double bonds. Fatty acids with only single bonds are celald saturated, and those with one or more double bndos are called unsaturated. Now, most unsaturated fats are good for you, while saettaurd fats are bad for you in excess. For saturated fats, the story pretty much ends there but not for uauntesratd fats. The dbuloe bonds in these molecules have a kind of weird property; they're rgiid. So, that means there are two ways to arrange every double bond. The first is like this, where both hodnegrys are on same side and both carbons are on the same side. The second way is like this. Now the hydrogens and carbons are on opposite sides of the double bond. Now, even though both of these molecules are made up of exactly the same building bcklos, they are two completely different substances, and they behave cllemeotpy dinrlefftey inside of us. The configuration on the left is called CIS, which you've probably never heard of. The one of the right is called TRANS, and you probably have hread of trans fats before. They don't go rancid, they're more stable during deep frying, and they can change the texture of foods in ways that other fats just can't. They're also terrible for your health, by far worse than saturated fat, even though tcleichlany they're a type of unsaturated fat. Now, I know that seems crazy, but your body doesn't care what a mloleuce looks like on paper. All that matters is the 3-D shape where the molecule fits, where it doesn't, and what phwaytas it ienetefrrs with. So, how do you know if a food has tnars fat in it? Well, the only sure way to know is if you see the words, "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredients list. Don't let ntrtiuoin labels or advertising fool you. The FDA allows manufacturers to claim that their products contain "0" grams of trans fat even if they actually have up to half a gram per seinrvg. But there are no hard and fast rlues about how slmal a serving can be, and, that maens, you'll have to rely on seeing those key words, partially hydrogenated, because that's how trans fats are made, by partially hydrogenating unsaturated fats. So, let's go back to our olive oil and pancake mix from before. Olive oil is 100% fat. Pancake mix is only 11% fat. But olive oil is mostly unsaturated fat, and it has no trans fat at all. On the other hand, more than half the fat in pncakae mix is either saturated or trans fat. And, so, even though olive oil has 10 times as much fat as pancake mix, it's hhtelay for you, whereas pancake mix is not. Now, I'm not trying to pick on pancake mix. There are lots of foods with this type of fat profile. The point is this: It's not how much fat you eat, it's what kind of fat. And what makes a particular fat healthy or unhealthy is its shape.

Open Cloze

_____ oil is 100% fat; there's nothing else in it. Pancake mix, on the other hand, is only about 11% fat. And, yet, olive oil is good for you, and pancake mix is not. Why is that? As it turns out, the ______ of fat we eat doesn't impact our ______ or our ___________ or our risk of heart disease nearly as much as what kind of fat we eat. But let's back up: What is fat? If we were to zoom in on a salmon, which is a fatty fish, past the ______, past the tissues, into the _____, we would see that the _____ we call fat is actually made up of molecules called triglycerides, and they are not all _____. Here's one example. Those three _______ on the left, that's glycerol. Now, you can think of that as the backbone that holds the rest of the molecule together. The three long chains on the right are called fatty acids, and it's subtle differences in the structures of these chains that determine whether a fat is, let's say, solid or liquid; whether or not it goes rancid quickly; and, most importantly, how good or how bad it is for you. Let's take a look at some of these differences. One is length. Fatty acids can be short or long. Another, more important difference is the type of bond between the carbon atoms. Some _____ acids have only ______ bonds. Others have both single and double bonds. Fatty acids with only single bonds are ______ saturated, and those with one or more double _____ are called unsaturated. Now, most unsaturated fats are good for you, while _________ fats are bad for you in excess. For saturated fats, the story pretty much ends there but not for ___________ fats. The ______ bonds in these molecules have a kind of weird property; they're _____. So, that means there are two ways to arrange every double bond. The first is like this, where both _________ are on same side and both carbons are on the same side. The second way is like this. Now the hydrogens and carbons are on opposite sides of the double bond. Now, even though both of these molecules are made up of exactly the same building ______, they are two completely different substances, and they behave __________ ___________ inside of us. The configuration on the left is called CIS, which you've probably never heard of. The one of the right is called TRANS, and you probably have _____ of trans fats before. They don't go rancid, they're more stable during deep frying, and they can change the texture of foods in ways that other fats just can't. They're also terrible for your health, by far worse than saturated fat, even though ___________ they're a type of unsaturated fat. Now, I know that seems crazy, but your body doesn't care what a ________ looks like on paper. All that matters is the 3-D shape where the molecule fits, where it doesn't, and what ________ it __________ with. So, how do you know if a food has _____ fat in it? Well, the only sure way to know is if you see the words, "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredients list. Don't let _________ labels or advertising fool you. The FDA allows manufacturers to claim that their products contain "0" grams of trans fat even if they actually have up to half a gram per _______. But there are no hard and fast _____ about how _____ a serving can be, and, that _____, you'll have to rely on seeing those key words, partially hydrogenated, because that's how trans fats are made, by partially hydrogenating unsaturated fats. So, let's go back to our olive oil and pancake mix from before. Olive oil is 100% fat. Pancake mix is only 11% fat. But olive oil is mostly unsaturated fat, and it has no trans fat at all. On the other hand, more than half the fat in _______ mix is either saturated or trans fat. And, so, even though olive oil has 10 times as much fat as pancake mix, it's _______ for you, whereas pancake mix is not. Now, I'm not trying to pick on pancake mix. There are lots of foods with this type of fat profile. The point is this: It's not how much fat you eat, it's what kind of fat. And what makes a particular fat healthy or unhealthy is its shape.

Solution

differently
molecule
pathways
blocks
small
pancake
carbons
alike
olive
single
amount
trans
cells
fatty
organs
hydrogens
called
heard
double
rules
means
interferes
stuff
serving
technically
rigid
weight
nutrition
cholesterol
saturated
healthy
completely
bonds
unsaturated

Original Text

Olive oil is 100% fat; there's nothing else in it. Pancake mix, on the other hand, is only about 11% fat. And, yet, olive oil is good for you, and pancake mix is not. Why is that? As it turns out, the amount of fat we eat doesn't impact our weight or our cholesterol or our risk of heart disease nearly as much as what kind of fat we eat. But let's back up: What is fat? If we were to zoom in on a salmon, which is a fatty fish, past the organs, past the tissues, into the cells, we would see that the stuff we call fat is actually made up of molecules called triglycerides, and they are not all alike. Here's one example. Those three carbons on the left, that's glycerol. Now, you can think of that as the backbone that holds the rest of the molecule together. The three long chains on the right are called fatty acids, and it's subtle differences in the structures of these chains that determine whether a fat is, let's say, solid or liquid; whether or not it goes rancid quickly; and, most importantly, how good or how bad it is for you. Let's take a look at some of these differences. One is length. Fatty acids can be short or long. Another, more important difference is the type of bond between the carbon atoms. Some fatty acids have only single bonds. Others have both single and double bonds. Fatty acids with only single bonds are called saturated, and those with one or more double bonds are called unsaturated. Now, most unsaturated fats are good for you, while saturated fats are bad for you in excess. For saturated fats, the story pretty much ends there but not for unsaturated fats. The double bonds in these molecules have a kind of weird property; they're rigid. So, that means there are two ways to arrange every double bond. The first is like this, where both hydrogens are on same side and both carbons are on the same side. The second way is like this. Now the hydrogens and carbons are on opposite sides of the double bond. Now, even though both of these molecules are made up of exactly the same building blocks, they are two completely different substances, and they behave completely differently inside of us. The configuration on the left is called CIS, which you've probably never heard of. The one of the right is called TRANS, and you probably have heard of trans fats before. They don't go rancid, they're more stable during deep frying, and they can change the texture of foods in ways that other fats just can't. They're also terrible for your health, by far worse than saturated fat, even though technically they're a type of unsaturated fat. Now, I know that seems crazy, but your body doesn't care what a molecule looks like on paper. All that matters is the 3-D shape where the molecule fits, where it doesn't, and what pathways it interferes with. So, how do you know if a food has trans fat in it? Well, the only sure way to know is if you see the words, "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredients list. Don't let nutrition labels or advertising fool you. The FDA allows manufacturers to claim that their products contain "0" grams of trans fat even if they actually have up to half a gram per serving. But there are no hard and fast rules about how small a serving can be, and, that means, you'll have to rely on seeing those key words, partially hydrogenated, because that's how trans fats are made, by partially hydrogenating unsaturated fats. So, let's go back to our olive oil and pancake mix from before. Olive oil is 100% fat. Pancake mix is only 11% fat. But olive oil is mostly unsaturated fat, and it has no trans fat at all. On the other hand, more than half the fat in pancake mix is either saturated or trans fat. And, so, even though olive oil has 10 times as much fat as pancake mix, it's healthy for you, whereas pancake mix is not. Now, I'm not trying to pick on pancake mix. There are lots of foods with this type of fat profile. The point is this: It's not how much fat you eat, it's what kind of fat. And what makes a particular fat healthy or unhealthy is its shape.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
olive oil	6
pancake mix	6
trans fat	4
fatty acids	3
double bonds	3
unsaturated fats	3
single bonds	2
double bond	2
trans fats	2

Important Words

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