Poly-Unsaturated Fats, Fatty Acids, and Essential Fatty Acids August 18, 2008

The Truth About Fat

Fats are broken down into 3 categories:

1. Saturated fats

2. Mono-unsaturated fats

3. Poly-unsaturated fats (this includes Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids [EFAs])

Let’s take a look at:

Poly-Unsaturated Fats, Fatty Acids, and Essential Fatty Acids

The key roles that fat plays in your body are in the breakdown for their fatty acids and in energy.

Fatty acids are vital to your health and well being. Fatty acids are the acids that are produced when fat is broken down. Your body uses fatty acids to perform key functions in your body which involve the brain, eyes, heart, lungs, nerves, skin, hair, digestion, and hormones.

Your body also burns fat for energy. The extra energy that is not burned or used in your body is stored in adipose tissue. Adipose then protects and cushions the organs in your body. The “fat” that many people dislike on their bodies (in the form of love handles, big thighs, or flabby bellies) is not fat per se, it’s adipose tissue.

The human body can produce all but 2 of the fatty acids it needs. These 2 fatty acids are linoleic acid (LA acid), which is the “parent” fatty acid to the Omega 6 family) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA acid) which is the “parent” fatty acid in the Omega 3 family.

Essential fatty acids (EFA’s) . When the word “essential” is used in a nutrition context, it refers to something that body cannot make on its own and must find from outside sources – i.e., your diet.

Foods High in Omega 3 include:

• Flax seeds
• Cold water fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel
• Sardines

Foods High in Omega 6 include:

• Sunflower seeds
• Vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, sesame, soybean, safflower
• Margarine
• Pumpkin seeds

And then of course there are Essential Fatty Acid Supplements in pill form – stay tuned for info on the doctor recommended EFAs to supplement your diet!

Alpha Lipoic Acid (“ALA”) August 5, 2008

Alpha lipoic acid is a fatty acid naturally manufactured by your body; it is also an antioxidant.

Here’s the scientific scoop on ALA:

ALA is a unique antioxidant because it functions in both water and fat (unlike antioxidants vitamin C – only water-soluble; and vitamin E – only fat-soluble).

It also seems to recycle antioxidants such as vitamin C and glutathione (an antioxidant that helps the body eliminate potentially harmful substances after they have been used up), as well as increasing the formation of glutathione.

Here’s the real deal:

ALA also occurs in very small amounts in foods such as:

• Spinach

• Broccoli

• Peas

• Brewer’s yeast

• Brussel sprouts

• Rice bran

• Organ meats such as

– liver (finally a reason to order foie gras)

– kidney

– heart

ALA is also available in capsule form in supplements. Take the supplements on an empty stomach for maximum absorption.