What is Essential about Essential Fatty Acids? Why consider supplementing.
What is Essential about Essential Fatty Acids?
Why you need to consider supplementing with Omega 3.
It is amazing how food fuels and nourishes us. Honestly when
I started out learning nutritional biochemistry it was just amazing for me
personally to understand the importance of truly nourishing our bodies, because
essentially it is the chemistry of food that really supports a healthy body.
I often get asked about what I would regard as a staple in
terms of a daily supplement and I would have to say there are a few (Magnesium is a must) but one of the key nutrients to supplement is Essential Fatty Acid… what I
would regard as one of the foundation supplements that supports healthy ageing.
Essential Fatty Acids or EFA’s are just as the name
suggests. It is a fat that is essential to the body. You see our body can synthesis or make many of the fat chemicals from the food we eat (after it has
been eaten, broken down, then transported into the blood stream) and these
types of fats play an important role such as producing hormones, are part of
our cell structure, help to support cell growth as well as give us energy among
other important functions.
But the two types of fat it cannot make from our food which
are regarded as EFA’s or essential and these are linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. These two are
referred to as EFA’s because they are essential for normal cell structure and
body function so we MUST get these from either food or supplements.
Essential Fatty acids are involved in the metabolism of
prostaglandins which is a hormone like compound found in just about all tissue
and organs of the body and involved in inflammation response. Prostaglandins can either promote
inflammation (not good) or reduce inflammation (EXCELLENT!) and it does this
depending on the metabolism of these EFA’s.
The main reasons why someone might be deficient in the two
EFA’s could be due to over consumption of processed foods which usually consists
of poor quality oils or fats, digestive or bowel conditions which inhibit the
ability to absorb EFA’s, dietary restrictions (vegetarians or food intolerance), not consuming foods that contain these EFA’s.
Examples of symptoms associated with EFA deficiency include any
type of pro inflammatory conditions include:
- dry skin and scalp (eczema/dermatitis included),
- dry mucous membranes (dry eyes, dry mouth, dry vagina)
- constipation
- immune issues
- sore joints including arthritis but also muscle pain
- depression and brain disorders
- cardiovascular issues
And many other conditions.
So as you can see….it
really is an essential nutrient.
Alpha-linolenic acid also known as Omega 3 is found in foods
such oily fish, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemps seeds and some shell
fish.
Linoleic acid is commonly regarded as an Omega 6 oil – and
actually we do tend to get plenty of this from our diet. Linoleic acid is found
in many of the nuts and seeds that we consume such as sunflower, safflower,
canola, peanuts and as a result also found in the oils such as canola oil,
sunflower oil but also known as vegetable oil. Linoleic acid is a
polyunsaturated fatty acid and can be found in almost all processed foods such
as bread, cakes, biscuits, pre made foods (frozen, canned, etc).
So how can we
be deficient I hear you ask? Well our bodies are a complex thing…so why should
this be any different?
Firstly, Omega 3 oils are really good at promoting
anti-inflammation pathways. And in particular if the food source is from oily fish
then even better as it does not require other important nutrients (magnesium,
zinc, Vitamin B6, C, B3) and is not affected by alcohol and saturated fat which
is the case with plant based Omega 3.
The reason for this is that Fish Oil
Omega 3 has two really important anti-inflammatory compounds known as EPA
(eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in high and bioavailable
amounts and these two compounds are really well known for their
anti-inflammatory health benefits.
Never fear though, if you have a diet that
is full of fresh vegetables and some nuts and seeds then you should be
converting plant based Omega 3 Oils into these positive pathways.
Omega 6 oils on the other hand can promote anti-inflammatory
effects, but its preferred option is to promote inflammation. That’s really unfortunate
huh?!. But there is a good reason for this, we actually do need some
inflammation from time to time to help our immune system kill of diseased
cells. However our food quality is so different now that we actually consume
far too much Omega 6 oils. The ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 in an ideal world
should be 3:1 (much debate on this) however the standard American diet has this
ratio at anywhere between 12:1 through to 25:1. Yikes! That’s some amount of
pro-inflammatory foods huh!
So you would think removing Omega 6 should be the way to go
right? Hold on! Remember its still an Essential Fatty Acid, so reducing it is
the way to go and by far the best way to do this is by firstly drastically
reducing or removing processed foods.
The other thing to understand is that just as with Omega 3,
not all Omega 6 food sources are created equal and some – with the help of
important vitamins and minerals – will promote prostaglandin production that is
anti-inflammatory. Examples include Evening Primrose, Hemp Seed Oil and
Spirulina.
Still confused….yes I still get confused too
sometimes…especially when I read all that information out there! So let’s get
to the nitty gritty…what should you take and why?
If you do not have a seafood allergy and can tolerate fish
oil then I suggest a good quality fish oil Omega 3 supplement. Remember this
has the highly researched EPA and DHA anti-inflammatory benefits but also has many other fatty acid profiles necessary for optimal health.
I personally
only recommend practitioner only Fish Oil supplement. Anything that is sold in bulk I feel like the quality is questionable. The brand I like to suggest is
sourced from certified, sustainable, wild caught fish purified in Norway and
third party tested for oxidation, heavy metals, environmental toxins, plastics,
radiation and pesticides. You should be asking these important questions of any Fish Oil supplement you decide to take, don't be afraid to ask the level of testing that company who manufactures your fish supplement carries out because only testing for Mercury is just simply not enough information.
If you prefer to steer clear of fish oil for whatever your
reasons then you may want to opt for Hemp Seed Oil or capsule which is quite
popular. This is a perfect supplement for vegetarians and vegans as it is a
really good source of both Omega 6 and Omega 3 and in the perfect ratio of 3:1.
It is also made up of GLA that along with those important
vitamins and minerals will ensure the preferred anti-inflammatory pathway is
promoted. Hemp seed oil also has trace amounts of some vitamins and minerals
and also some antioxidant benefits. Because it is regarded as sustainable food
product it is another reason why it is popular.
So just to summarise – who would benefit from supplementing
with Omega 3? EVERYONE! EVEN KIDS!!!
But other reasons include:
- Cardiovascular issues
- Immune issues
- Inflammatory and pain issues
- Mood and brain disorders (depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease etc)
- Hormonal dysfunction
- Pregnancy
- Kids growth and development
- Skin and hair health
·
Want to know what your Omega 3 levels are like? Available
very soon in clinic will be a quick non-invasive test (i.e. just a finger prick
test!) that will be able to check your index level. This is a fantastic tool to
be able to verify if you are in fact getting enough of this ESSENTIAL nutrient
from your food and supplement.
If you want to find out more about the importance of knowing your Omega 3 index click here.
As always if you have any questions or want to book in for
help on how to improve your Omega 3 then please do get in contact!
Take care everyone!
Claudia Oxford-Gonzalez
Clinical Nutritionist DipNut GradCert. HPN
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