To digest fats or lipids, the two main steps are:
1. **Emulsification**:
- **Cause**: When fats enter the small intestine, they are in large droplets that are hard to digest.
- **Effect**: Bile salts from the liver break down the large fat droplets into smaller droplets, increasing the surface area for enzymes to work on.
2. **Hydrolysis**:
- **Cause**: Enzymes called lipases break down the smaller fat droplets into fatty acids and glycerol.
- **Effect**: This breakdown allows the fatty acids and glycerol to be absorbed into the intestinal cells for further processing and use in the body.
In summary, emulsification breaks down large fat droplets into smaller droplets, and hydrolysis further breaks down these smaller droplets into absorbable fatty acids and glycerol.
