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Essential Fatty Acids
� 1-4% fat
� 2 % in Lipids, (high in PUFA)
There are twenty different needed fatty acids in your body, but they are all made from two: linoleic acid and linolenic acid. These two fatty acids are essential.
You must get them from the foods you eat because your body cannot manufacture them. Thus, essential fatty acids are the building blocks for all the other fats in your body. Your body needs essential fatty acids for the formation of healthy cell membranes, for proper brain and nervous function, and for the production of chemicals that regulate functions such as blood pressure, blood viscosity, constriction of blood vessels, and immune and inflammatory responses. As with essential amino acids, the essential fatty acids... omega-3 and omega-6... cannot be synthesized by our body and must be obtained by dietary means. Within the body both can be converted to other PUFAs such as arachidonic acid, or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Saturated and monounsaturated fats are not necessary in the diet as they can be produced within the human body.
The two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that cannot be made in the body are linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. They must be provided by diet and are known as essential fatty acids.
Another requirement for fat in the diet is to enable the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K to be absorbed from food; and for regulating body cholesterol metabolism.
What are the Essential Fatty Acids:Another name for linoleic fatty acid family is omega-6 fatty acids.The linolenic fatty acids are often called omega-3 fatty acids.The names come from the way the molecules are strung together. Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids are especially important for making prostaglandins in your body. Prostaglandins are hormone-like substances that regulate many activities in your body including inflammation, pain, and swelling (some cause swelling and others relieve it). They also play a role in controlling your blood pressure, your heart, your kidneys, your digestive system, and body temperature. They are important for allergic reactions, blood clotting and making other hormones.
Many of these long-chain fatty acids can be found in fatty fish like mackerel, sardine, salmon, blue fish herring tuna, flounder and seaweed.
What many people do not know is that they are also found in seaweed, algae, and even phytoplankton. In fact, that�s where most of the fish get them from. Our fish is the second line in our food chain. Seaweed belongs to the first chain. The fish by eating seaweed or the seaweed grassers like periwinkles etc.
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