Ten years ago, nobody wanted to know anything about them. Health-conscious people avoided them like the plague. Now, they’ve become the latest fad. Not a week goes by without at least one or two reports in the media describing yet another health benefit from their inclusion in the diet.
I’m talking about fat. In particular, the polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). They’ve been getting a lot of positive press lately and for good reason. The research-based benefits of some PUFAs have been rolling out at an extraordinary rate in recent years. However, with all the health benefits reported from the different types of PUFAs, it can get confusing when deciding what kind is best to add to your diet.
The recent avalanche of new information can also make it seem impossible to determine whether or not you’ve got all of your “essential fats” requirements covered.
Fear not. I’m here to save the day!
Once you’ve read this series of articles not only will you have all your facts straight, you’ll be a wealth of knowledge on the subject. You can amaze your friends, be the life at parties, solve world problems, etc, etc. Just be sure to use your powers for good and not evil, okay?
The chemistry and other stuff that’s good to know…
A PUFA molecule is shaped like a caterpillar. They are so tiny that a 100 quintillion (that’s 100 followed by 18 zeroes) are present in a single drop of oil. Each “caterpillar” is composed of two parts; a carbon chain with an acid group attached at the front.
Chemically, these long chains of carbon atoms are linked together with single and double bonds. The location and number of these double bonds is the key to a fatty acid’s bioactivity; it determines the shape of the molecule and how the body uses it.
The term “poly” indicates that there are at least two double bonds located along the fatty acid chain. The term “polyunsaturated” refers to the fact that due to these double bonds, the carbon chain is not completely “saturated” with hydrogen.
Saturated fats are so bad for our health because the chain has no double bonds and therefore, no functionality. These fats have no biological purpose other than to be utilized as a fuel source so they are stored in tissues until required.
There are two main families of PUFA: n-3 and n-6. These fatty acids are not interchangeable and have very different biochemical roles.
The “n” designates where the final double bond is located on the chain; this is a critical aspect of its functionality. The term “omega” is often used to describe these fats as it means “last” or “final”. Hence the name omega-3 and omega-6 fats.
There are two 18 carbon chain PUFAs your body can not manufacture. They need to be present in the diet. They are the “essential fats” linoleic acid (LA) (an omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) (an omega-3).
Technically, from these two, your body has the ability to manufacture the myriad of different fatty acid chains it needs. However, as you’ll discover, this process is by no means adequate.
The problem…
In the typical western diet – yes even a healthy one, we consume 10–25-fold more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats.
This predominance of n-6 fat is due to the abundance of LA in the foods people like to eat. LA is present in high concentrations in soy, corn, safflower, and sunflower oils. All processed foods contain these oils as do most meals that are cooked in restaurants.
Why is this a problem?
Research over the last 30 or more years suggests that the large imbalance between the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in our diet is the cause of so many unrelated conditions of ill health.
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis some cancers, unwanted weight gain and even poor results from consistent exercise manifest from “inflammatory conditions” - a chronic inflammatory response produced within the body. From the research it is clear that the large imbalance between the omega-6 to omega-3 fats in our diet creates this chronic inflammation that underlines so many unrelated conditions of ill health.
What to do about it?
That’s next week.
Dr Paul Cribb is an award-winning sports scientist, author, personal trainer and the creator of mp-body.com – the first ever science-based, research-proven, nationally accredited body transformation program. Learn more here