Improving one’s diet is one of the best ways to get healthy. But the last thing that many people would think about when they are trying to lose weight or to get healthy is probably going to be fat. In fact it’s one of the things they are probably going to try and eliminate from their diet. Research has shown that the body needs fats to stay alive and that fats help facilitate many of the body’s essential functions. The key to living a healthier life may not be to eliminate fat from the diet or to restrict it as much as possible but rather to make sure that the fats that are taken in are the best kinds - essential fatty acids.
Essential fatty acids are fats that the body absolutely needs to perform properly and to keep you in top health condition. Essential fatty acids, sometimes known as EFA’s, are fatty acids that cannot be made within the body from other parts or by any chemical process that is known in the body. They have to be obtained from the diet and so we have to look to what foods can provide these essential fats. There are basically two different families of EFA’s - Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. The research that has lead to the discovery of their importance is relatively new and fresh. Fats from both families are essential and the body can convert one form of omega 3 to another omega 3 to use in a different form. Fatty acids were originally though to be a vitamin and named vitamin F but now they have been classified with the fats rather than with vitamins. Both families of fats are very important in the functioning of the body and their interactions with each other are also very important. The fats can be modified in the body to create other fats that can affect inflammation and other functions on the cellular level, mood and behavior and even interacting with medicines like aspirin to down regulate inflammation. They are also very important in the transmission and proper copying of DNA and ensuring that these processes are done properly.
Fatty acids are basically a straight chain of hydrocarbons with a carboxyl group at one end of it. They are different lengths and the 3 and 6 in their names designate the first double carbon-carbon bond happens after the 3rd CH3 molecule. They qualify as unsaturated fats (which some people recently believed were even worse than saturated fats). There are some familiar names that people have probably heard of advertised in vitamin supplements or that are included in some foods. A-Linolenic acid and Linoleic acid are the two most commonly recognizable essential fatty acids for most people. They are of note because they cannot be synthesized by the processes in the human body so they have to be acquired from the body.
Many people are touting the health benefits of essential fatty acids and they are very important to heart and blood health. Unsaturated fats are most known for their ability to improve cholesterol levels in the blood and body cells. High cholesterol has become a very common health problem and many people are concerned about it. Unsaturated fats allow the body to keep more good cholesterol (which is more efficient in moving different nutrients around the body) than bad cholesterol in the blood stream. High (bad) cholesterol levels are associated with heart disease, clogged veins and arteries and many other health problems. Essential fatty acids provide much more good cholesterol than bad and help regulate and balance out the levels in the body
Essential fatty acids are fats that the body absolutely needs to perform properly and to keep you in top health condition. Essential fatty acids, sometimes known as EFA’s, are fatty acids that cannot be made within the body from other parts or by any chemical process that is known in the body. They have to be obtained from the diet and so we have to look to what foods can provide these essential fats. There are basically two different families of EFA’s - Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. The research that has lead to the discovery of their importance is relatively new and fresh. Fats from both families are essential and the body can convert one form of omega 3 to another omega 3 to use in a different form. Fatty acids were originally though to be a vitamin and named vitamin F but now they have been classified with the fats rather than with vitamins. Both families of fats are very important in the functioning of the body and their interactions with each other are also very important. The fats can be modified in the body to create other fats that can affect inflammation and other functions on the cellular level, mood and behavior and even interacting with medicines like aspirin to down regulate inflammation. They are also very important in the transmission and proper copying of DNA and ensuring that these processes are done properly.
Fatty acids are basically a straight chain of hydrocarbons with a carboxyl group at one end of it. They are different lengths and the 3 and 6 in their names designate the first double carbon-carbon bond happens after the 3rd CH3 molecule. They qualify as unsaturated fats (which some people recently believed were even worse than saturated fats). There are some familiar names that people have probably heard of advertised in vitamin supplements or that are included in some foods. A-Linolenic acid and Linoleic acid are the two most commonly recognizable essential fatty acids for most people. They are of note because they cannot be synthesized by the processes in the human body so they have to be acquired from the body.
Many people are touting the health benefits of essential fatty acids and they are very important to heart and blood health. Unsaturated fats are most known for their ability to improve cholesterol levels in the blood and body cells. High cholesterol has become a very common health problem and many people are concerned about it. Unsaturated fats allow the body to keep more good cholesterol (which is more efficient in moving different nutrients around the body) than bad cholesterol in the blood stream. High (bad) cholesterol levels are associated with heart disease, clogged veins and arteries and many other health problems. Essential fatty acids provide much more good cholesterol than bad and help regulate and balance out the levels in the body
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