HEALTHY FATS: What you need to know about fatty acids

• Chemically speaking, "fats" are made up of "fatty acids" in a similar way that proteins are made from amino acids.  

• Some fatty acids have health-promoting effects ("healthy fats"), while other fatty acids promote disease ("harmful fats").

• The American/Western style of eating is notoriously deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and this dietary imbalance contributes to the chronic diseases and inflammatory disorders that plague industrialized nations: heart disease, cancer, depression, and inflammatory disorders such as autoimmune diseases and allergies.

• Consistent with your goal of attaining optimal health and preventing disease and your appreciation of the complexity of fatty acid biochemistry, you need to recognize that it is necessary to supplement with several fatty acids, not just one.

• The health-promoting fatty acids are ALA (from flax oil), GLA (from borage oil), EPA and DHA (from fish oil), and oleic acid (from olive oil, also found in small amounts in borage oil and flax oil).  Thus, in order to get all of the fatty acids, you need to use a supplementation program that includes flax oil, fish oil, and a source of GLA such as borage oil.  Oleic acid is found most abundantly in olive oil, which should be used liberally in cooking and on vegetables and salads

Health-promoting fatty acids (Americans generally do not get enough of these)

1. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): omega-3 fatty acid from from flax oil; supplementation with ALA has shown a consistent antiinflammatory and heart-protective benefit in several studies. 

2. GLA (gamma-linolenic acid): omega-6 fatty acid from various plants such as borage, evening primrose, hemp, blackcurrant seed oil.  GLA is commonly used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders such as eczema and psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.  It is virtually non-toxic in doses up to 4 grams per day; these high doses generally require a separate supplement of borage oil, which is the most concentrated source of GLA.

3. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid): omega-3 fatty acid from fish oil, such as cod liver oil.  EPA provides clinically significant anti-inflammatory benefits in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.  Research has shown that EPA is effective in the treatment of depression and other neurocognitive disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder. 

4. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): omega-3 fatty acid from fish oil, such as cod liver oil.  EPA and DHA occur together in fish oil and they both have antiinflammatory effects and cardioprotective benefits.  Notably, DHA is absolutely essential for optimal brain function. 

5. Oleic acid: omega-9 fatty acid from olive oil (major source) and also flaxseed oil and borage oil.  

1. Linoleic acid (LA): omega-6 fatty acid from vegetable/seed oils such as corn oil and sunflower seeds; may lower cholesterol levels but increase the risk of cancer and other inflammatory diseases.

2. Arachidonic acid (ARA): arachidonic acid comes almost exclusively from the consumption of "land animal fats" such as from beef, liver, pork, lamb, and daily/milk products.  Arachidonic acid is the fuel that feeds the fire of inflammation, because arachidonic acid is the direct precursor to the body's inflammatory chemicals: prostaglandins and leukotrienes.  The single beneficial application of arachidonic acid is in the treatment of some forms of depression and ADD/ADHD--in these situations, arachidonic acid can be administered/consumed along with supplements of the health-promoting fatty acids ALA, EPA, DHA to improve brain function.  Dietary arachidonic acid should clearly be reduced in the diets of people concerned with cancer, heart disease, or any of the inflammatory disorders such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. 

In lieu of eating the so-called perfect diet which may have never existed and which certainly does not exist by consumption of our modernized foods, we are wise to take advantage of the health-promoting benefits of ALA, EPA, DHA, GLA and oleic acid

• Part 1: review of fatty acid biochemistry by Dr. Vasquez, Nutritional Perspectives 2004

• Part 2: clinical uses of fatty acid therapy by Dr. Vasquez, Nutritional Perspectives 2005

• Essential fatty acids in health and chronic disease by Artemis Simopoulos (link updated April 2005), published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999.  "Human beings evolved consuming a diet that contained about equal amounts of n-3 and n-6 essential fatty acids. Over the past 100-150 y there has been an enormous increase in the consumption of n-6 fatty acids due to the increased intake of vegetable oils from corn, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, cottonseed, and soybeans. Today, in Western diets, the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids ranges from approximately 20-30:1 instead of the traditional range of 1-2:1..."