Fat Soluble Versus Water Soluble
- Fat soluble molecules
- can dissolve in fats and oils.
- are stored longer within the body, therefore, compared to water soluble substances they pose a greater risk for toxicity.
- have the ability to be absorbed in the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body.
- can lead to an increased severity of the adverse effects because these fat soluble molecules can cross the blood brain barrier (a very selective barrier that prevents harmful substances from entering the brain and causing damage).
- when these fat soluble substances make passage through this barrier, they can have detrimental neurological effects.
- Water soluble molecules
- are dissolved in water.
- are readily removed from the body and are not easily stored in the body.
- vitamins such as Vitamin C and numerous forms of Vitamin B are all examples of water soluble molecules.
- due to the fact that these molecules are readily excreted and are not stored in the body very often, these molecules pose less of a toxic risk than the fat soluble molecules.
