Essential Fatty Acids

There are always controversies in nutrition. With all that’s been written about seed oils and sources of omega-3 fatty acids, I thought we’d go back to the basics this week—back to what are the essential fatty acids, seen above floating in the bloodstream. Similar to essential amino acids, essential fatty acids are the fats that we cannot make ourselves; therefore, they must be obtained from the foods that we eat. We can make plenty of saturated fats from carbohydrates and even proteins, but we can’t make the two essential fatty acids (FA).

The two essential fatty acids are the omega-6 fatty acid called linoleic acid (LA) and the omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). With those as a base, other fatty acids can be made that have a variety of important functions in the body; the most important function is making cell membranes. If you have adequate amounts of these essential fatty acids, it simply means your cells will work better. The sources for these oils are all plant based: seeds, nuts, and oils from those foods.

Men need about 17 grams of ALA per day while women need about 11. Women need about 1.1 grams of LA per day while men need 1.6 grams per day. That seems like such small amounts when you consider that works out to fewer than 150 calories for women and 200 calories for men, using oils as the primary source.

What about the omega-3s we hear about all the time like EPA and DHA? I’ll get into those on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Linus Pauling Institute. Essential Fatty Acids
2. J Lipid Res 2014 DOI 10.1194/jlr.R055095