What are fatty acids?
Most of the fats we eat are in the form of triglycerides. Each triglyceride is made
of a backbone of glycerol (three carbon atoms linked together in a short chain) and
three fatty acids (longer chains of linked carbon atoms), one bound to each of the
glycerol carbons. The fatty acids we eat in our food and supplements are the ones that
find their way into our tissues. What we eat is what we get.
Why are certain fatty acids essential?
Fats are macronutrients in the human diet – we eat lots of them each day. Fats
serve many functions in the body, including:
- Major fuel for energy.
- Building materials for membranes that surround each cell, cell nucleus, and cell mitochondria (energy-producing organelles inside each cell).
- Raw materials for each cell and tissue to make local hormones (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes) that control tissue functions.
Although many different kinds of fats can be used as energy sources, certain specific
fatty acids are needed for ideal structural integrity of membranes, and of those only a
few can be used by the body to make local hormones. These fatty acids cannot be
manufactured by body tissues from other raw materials. They must be obtained from a
nutrient-rich diet. This is why these are termed "essential fatty acids." They must be
eaten regularly for ideal health.
What’s the difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids?
Carbon atoms are not just linked to each other; they are also linked to hydrogen atoms
in fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids are such that the carbon atoms are linked by single
bonds to each other and to as many hydrogens around themselves as possible. That means
that the fatty acid is saturated with hydrogen. Unsaturated fatty acids have some
hydrogen vacancies. The carbon atoms make up for the hydrogen vacancies by establishing
double bonds with each other.
We commonly eat saturated fats, especially in the form of products from livestock
raised and fattened on grain (e.g., corn) – fat on meat, butter, etc. In fact, the excess
fat that accumulates in the human body is mainly in the form of triglycerides made of
saturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids in our diet arise directly or indirectly
from plants – plant oils, herbivores, or carnivores feasting on herbivores.
The essential fatty acids tend to be unsaturated, usually polyunsaturated. The health
benefits of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (found in olive oil and other
vegetable oils) are now being recognized.
Omega-6 versus Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids
As mentioned earlier, our tissue cells make local hormones from the raw materials of
fatty acids found on cell membranes. The essential fatty acids on cell membranes used to
make local hormones tend to be specific polyunsaturated fatty acids. The polyunsaturated
fatty acids fall into two categories – omega-3 and omega-6. The category names reflect
where the first double bond (unsaturated) occurs between carbon atoms in the fatty acid
molecule.
It is now believed, in accordance with the latest scientific evidence, that optimal
health requires a dynamic balance between local hormones made from omega-3 and omega-6
fatty acids. Each category of fatty acids and associated local hormones has a valuable
role to play in tissue functioning. In addition, each tissue manufactures its own special
kinds of local hormones based on its unique physiologic functions and needs. Local
hormones made from omega-6 fatty acids (especially arachidonic acid) tend to be
pro-inflammatory. Those made from omega-3 fatty acids (especially EPA or eicosapentaenoic
acid) tend to be non-inflammatory. The situation-appropriate balance between the two
supports tissue well-being throughout the body.
A major cause of or contributing factor to many chronic ailments that plague people
in the Western world is an imbalanced intake of omega-6 fats versus omega-3. It’s not a
matter of omega-6s in their natural state being bad or evil; we are simply eating too
much of them and too little of omega-3s.
How do the tissue effects of omega-6 fatty acids differ from those of omega-3s?
Some of the main effects of excess local hormones made from omega-6 fats (arachidonic
acid) are:
- Chronic inflammation tendency.
- Increased blood pressure.
- Increased tendency for blood clotting, heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, etc.
- Increased risk of asthma and inflammatory bowel disease attacks for those genetically predisposed to such conditions.
How can these health issues arising from essential fatty acid imbalance be corrected?
- Decrease the intake of excess omega-6 sources.
- Increase omega-3 sources - grass-fed animal products, small wild ocean fish, flaxseed oil, and fish oil.
What are the sources of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in our diet?
Omega-6
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Omega-3
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- Grain-raised livestock products, including dairy
- Common vegetable oils: corn, safflower, sunflower, soy, sesame
- Hydrogenated vegetable oils (vegetable shortening, margarine) – also laden with undesirable trans fats
- Processed foods made from the above raw materials
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- Wild game
- Small wild ocean fish
- Grass-fed livestock products
- Flaxseed oil
- Fish oil
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What tissue functions are served by essential fatty acids?
Essential fatty acids are used to make cell structures and local hormones in virtually
every part of the body. For that reason, the effects of essential fatty acids are wide
ranging.
Here are some important tissue-level functions of essential fatty acids:
- Building blocks of cell membranes
- Inflammation regulation
- Tension of artery smooth muscle
- Steroid production
- Cell reproduction
- Mobility of saturated fats in the blood
- Platelet (blood components involved in clotting) stickiness
- Energy source for heart muscle
- Nerve transmission
- Muscle reflexes
- Immune response
- Eye pressure
- Kidney function and fluid balance
What are the signs and symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency?
Depending on genetic predispositions, essential fatty acid deficiency can express
itself in a number of ways:
- Fatigue and lack of endurance
- Dry skin, cracked nails, dry hair
- Dry mucous membranes
- Indigestion
- Constipation
- Weak immunity
- Depression
- Forgetfulness
- Hypertension
- Chronic arthritis
- Cardiovascular disease
What would cause a person to be in a state of essential fatty acid deficiency or imbalance?
Many people in Western civilization are suffering from essential fatty acid deficiency due to:
- Excess intake of omega-6 oils and products from grain-fed livestock.
- Hydrogenation of vegetable oils to produce solid vegetable shortenings.
- Heating of polyunsaturated oils leading to the generation of trans-fats.
- High consumption of processed foods laden with these undesirable fats.
- Metabolic competition between these undesirable fats and desirable essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids.