Why Are
Some Omega oils called Essential Fatty Acids?
Because:
-
they
are crucial for growth and development
-
they
cannot be manufactured in the body
-
they
must therefore be obtained from the food we eat, or
from additional supplements
There are
two families of essential fatty acids:
-
omega-3 fatty acids (LNA,
or linolenic acid)
-
omega-6 fatty acids
(LA, or linoleic acid)
Omega 3
Omega 3s are mainly found
in oily fish and flaxseed. Lesser
amounts are found in some nuts or seeds, such as walnuts
and pumpkins.
The two important Omegas
in fish oils are called EPA and DHA. These two are
absolutely vital for the brain, eyesight, nervous
system, heart and circulation, balanced pain control and
good mood.
Flax seed Oil, and
to a lesser degree a few other oils, also contain Omega
3. This is called ALA (alpha linolenic acid).
ALA has benefits
in its own right (for instance for the skin, immunity,
heart and circulation, and for pain control).
ALA can also be converted
by the body into EPA and DHA. So flax seed oil
provides a vegetarian supply of EPA and DHA, as long as your
body is able to make this conversion (diabetics, young
children, people prone to allergies and older people may
not do this efficiently, and therefore cannot be relied
upon).
Omega 6
Omega 6s are found in many
vegetable oils, such as sunflower, corn etc., in the
form of LA (linoleic acid). LA can be converted by the
body into GLA (gamma linolenic acid), but only if you
have all the vitamins and minerals, as well as the
appropriate enzyme, in your system, necessary to make
the conversion.
GLA is important for skin,
hormone balance, immunity, balanced pain control and
good mood. For many years it has been used very
successfully for Premenstrual Syndrome.
GLA itself is found in
starflower (Borage) oil and Evening primrose oil, ready
made, which saves the body from having to convert it
from LA (linolenic acid).
The ratio
Our ancestors ate a lot
more fish than we do. In fact scientists believe we may
have developed our big human brains, which are packed
with DHA and EPA, by living mainly on fish, back in
Africa. They estimate that our diet once provided a
one-to-one ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. But today we eat
a lot of Omega 6 vegetable oils and very little fish.
This has changed the ratio to more like one part Omega 3
to 20 or more parts Omega 6, which is a long way from a healthy
body’s needs. This is why many people now prefer to use
a good flax seed oil for salads, rather than corn or one
of the Omega 6-rich vegetable oils (basically all the
others). Or they choose a good oil blend, such as
Essential Balance or Udo's Choice which provides the
perfect balance of one to one Omega 3 to Omega 6.
It seems a little
confusing to add Omega 6 to these oils when all the
evidence is that most Western people already consume far
too much of the omega 6 from vegetable oils. There
is a very good reason for this. Most of the omega 6 oils
consumed in the modern world are highly processed,
wholly or partially hydrogenated, and rancid. These
processed oils do not deliver the quality omega 6 which
we need, and therefore, in spite of eating them on a
daily basis, we are often still deficient.
Children
Brains are largely built
from Omega 3, so mothers need to be taking either flax
seed oil or a good fish oil supplement during pregnancy
and for the first few months of breastfeeding (if bottle
feeding check the Omega 3 content).
Sadly, oily fish is
now so polluted that it isn’t a wise menu choice at any
point in life, and a fish oil supplement, from a
reputable company which tests the oil batches for
mercury and other toxins, is a good alternative to
eating fish.
| Short-form |
Full name |
Omega |
Good Source |
| ALA |
Alpha
linolenic acid |
3 |
Flax, hemp,
walnut, pumpkin seed |
| EPA |
Eicosapentaeoic acid |
3 |
Fish
Can be converted
in the body from ALA if various vitamins and
minerals and enzymes are available. This process
in inefficient. See *note below. |
| DHA |
Docosahexanoic
acid |
3 |
As
EPA above
|
| LA |
Linoleic acid |
6 |
Sunflower oil,
safflower oil, vegetable oil, and virtually all
other oils |
| GLA |
Gamma
Linolenic acid |
6 |
Evening
Primrose Oil, Borage Oil
Can be converted
in the body from LA if various vitamins and
minerals and enzymes are available |
|
*According to Udo Erasmus, Fats and Oils,
p.244, both EPA and DHA can be
manufacturered by the healthy human body, albeit
slowly, from the essential w3 fatty acid,
linolenic acid (LNA, 18:3w3), which is found in
flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, and
walnuts. However, many degenerative conditions,
listed in Chapter 46 (see: Oil of Evening
Primrose), impair the body's ability to make the
w3 long chain fatty acids EPA and DHA from LNA,
for the same reasons that these degenerative
conditions impair the body's ability to make the
w6 long chain fatty acids.
(w3 and w6
essential fatty acids use the same enzyme system
to make their corresponding long chain
derivatives.) |
