What Are Omega Three Fatty Acids?‏

By now you have probably heard that omega three fatty acids are essential for good health. But what's special about a fatty acid being omega-3? And what does it mean for a chemical to be an omega three, anyway?

The -3 designation of the essential fatty acids in fish oil is nothing but a shorthand way chemists use for saying that the molecule can be activated at the the third carbon from one end. When our bodies slice and dice essential fats to make hormones, the itty bitty  -3 molecules get turned into hormones that regulate inflammation.  Additionally, the slightly larger -6 molecules get turned into hormones that cause inflammation, and the largest -7 and -9 molecules get turned into skin protectants and stored fat, respectively.

The important thing to remember is that the omega threes are what every cell in your body needs to keep inflammatory processes in check, and the omega-6's are what every cell in your body needs to generate the inflammation that activates the immune system or cleans up damage in neighboring tissues.

Both the "3" and "6" forms of essential fatty acids are essential for human health. Sometimes the omega-3's are referred to as "good" and the omega-6's are referred to as "bad," but that is only because our diets contain so much more omega-6 fat than omega-3 fat, about 20 times as much, actually. 

The oils used to fry foods and to make packaged foods are almost pure omega-6, inflammatory fat. Every time we eat a Hostess Twinkie or we chomp down on a bag of chips, we flood our systems with the fats that fuel inflammatory processes that keep us constantly just a little sick, and eventually make us very sick.

Even when we consume healthy plant oils like flaxseed oil, there is still so much omega-6 fat in the product that the net effect is keeping our bodies inflamed. Only highly concentrated sources of the inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty aids like fish oil can reverse the effects of bad diets loaded with fried foods, fast foods, and snack foods that come in cellophane wrappers.

You don't really absolutely have to supplement your diet with fish oil. It would also work never to eat another potato chip or candy bar or fried chicken dinner ever again. Cutting out trips to Burger King, Long John Silver's, and McDonald's for the rest of your life would be necessary, too. But if you can't always eat the way you should, taking fish oil helps make up for the inflammation generated by your dietary indiscretions and helps reverse the diseases caused by chronic inflammation.

You should also be sure to choose a high quality supplement that has been processed to maintain optimum purity and freshness. If you'd like my well-researched recommendation for the fish oil with omega three fatty acids I take everyday, please visit my web site.