Essential Fatty Acids

There are certain types of polyunsaturated fats that are essential to the human body. The term "essential" means that they cannot be manufactured in the body from other fats, they have to be provided in the diet. Essential fatty acids are precursors for an extremely important class of chemicals - prostaglandins. These essential fats are Omega 3 & Omega 6 fatty acids, or n-3 & n-6 fats. They should make up approximately 2% of our daily fat intake.

The role of these essentials fats are:

• Protection against heart disease ( control of blood pressure)
• Prevention of blood clots
• Beneficial effect on blood lipid profiles
• Reduction of inflammation in arthritis and asthma
• Enhanced transport of oxygen by red blood cells
• Enhance immune responsiveness
• Maintenance of the quality of membranes and therefore may present some protection against the ageing process

Where to gain these essential fats: oily fish, seeds and oils, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, rape seeds, soya beans, dark green vegetables, vegetable oils and polyunsaturated margarines.