In what form are the overwhelming majority of enteral dietary lipids ingested?

• A. Monoglycerides
• B. Diglycerides
• C. Free fatty acids
• D. Triglycerides

Answer: (D)

Most dietary fats are consumed as triglycerides. In the diet and enteral formulas, fats are primarily triacylglycerols—three fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone. During digestion, pancreatic lipase breaks these triglycerides down into monoglycerides and free fatty acids to be absorbed, and they’re then reassembled into triglycerides inside enterocytes for transport in chylomicrons. So the form you ingest is triglycerides, while monoglycerides and free fatty acids are products of digestion, not the form of ingestion. Some formulas may use medium-chain triglycerides that are absorbed differently, but they still originate from triglycerides rather than being ingested as free fatty acids or monoglycerides.