Why Fatty Acids are Important:

• They are structural components of all cell's membranes, fatty acids help form a barrier that keeps foreign molecules, viruses, yeasts, fungi and bacteria outside of cells, and keeps the cells proteins, enzymes, genetic material and organelles inside the cell.

• They make up 70% of all the material in our brains.

• They also help regulate the traffic of substances in and out of cells via protein channels, pumps and other mechanisms.

• They perform similar functions in membranes that surround organelles within cells.

• They regulate oxygen use, electron transport, and energy production, the single most important moment-to-moment processes of the body.

• They help form red blood pigment (hemoglobin) from simpler substances.

• They keep juice-producing (exocrine) and hormone-producing (endocrine) glands active.

• They help make joint lubricants.

• They are precursors of prostaglandins (PGs), three families of short lived, hormone-like substances that regulate blood pressure, platelet stickiness, and kidney function

• They help maintain the delicate balance between PGs with opposing functions, which are in part, determined by omega-6 and omega-3 intake. This determines the health of the cardiovascular system.

• They help transport cholesterol.

• They help generate electrical currents that enable the heart to beat in an orderly sequence.

• They are precursors of derivatives like DHA, which are needed by active tissues including the brain, retina, adrenal glands and testes.

• They help our immune system fight infections by enhancing peroxide production.

• They help prevent the development of allergies.

Fatty Acids are Essential to Health:

• Humans cannot synthesize fatty acids from other substances.

• They must be obtained from external sources from food or supplements.

• Deficiencies and improper ratios of fatty acids cause gradual deterioration of healthy tissue.

• The body cannot live without the key functions provided by fatty acids.

Here are three important fatty acids:

1. OMEGA-6: found in almost all vegetable oils; however, all omega-6s are pro-inflammatory.

2. OMEGA-3: Omega-3 is an unsaturated fatty acid that has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. The best source of Omega-3 is phospholipids found in ocean Krill, not the triglyceride found in fish oil. Flax oil is a poor source of Omega-3 because of its high Omega-6 content and because only a small percentage of the Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is converted into DHA and EPA, the two types of Omega-3 fatty acids more readily used by our bodies.

3. Omega-5^e: is a mono-unsaturated of the Omega-5 series that offers important nutritional benefits and significantly higher anti-inflammatory properties than Omega-3.

Proper Dietary Ratio of the Omega Fatty Acids:

The correct dietary intake of Omega fatty acids are; is in a ratio of one Omega-3/5 to every two Omega-6s. The typical American diet offers an improperly balanced ratio of 20 to 30 Omega-6s to every one Omega-3/5; some diets offer ratios as high as 50 to 1. These imbalanced ratios are associated with many degenerative health conditions such as obesity, arthritis, heart disease and auto-immune dysfunctional diseases like allergies, diabetes and fibromyalagia, etc. Supplementation of Omega-5 helps to balance the ratio of inflammatory to anti-inflammatory fatty acids and is essential for a healthy life.

Special Properties of Fatty Acids:

• While fatty acids are like vitamins in their essentiality, they differ in other respects. Vitamins are required in small amounts (mg/day). Fatty acids are macronutrients, necessary in grams/day.

• A second difference is that fatty acids are perishable, deteriorating rapidly when exposed to light, air, heat and metals. Unlike vitamins, fatty acids cannot be dried, powdered, and stored for several years. This sensitivity makes careful processing and freshness extremely important.

The Following Inhibit the Body’s use of Fatty Acids (avoid these):

• Bad fats like margarines and shortenings (trans-fatty acids).
• All hydrogenated oils.
• Processed sugar.
• LDL cholesterol.

• Deficiencies in the minerals calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc and copper.
• Deficiencies in vitamins B3, B6, C, and E.
• Viral infections.
• Obesity.

Fatty acids play an essential role in every life process in our body. Life without them is impossible. When foods are fatty acid poor, they cause a diversity of health problems.