Omega Epa

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Why are EPA and DHA called omega-3 fatty acid?

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Fats are broken up into three families, and the poly-unsaturated family is further split into two groups:

* Saturated
* Mono-unsaturated
* Poly-unsaturated
* Omega 3
* Omega 6

It’s important to note that one family is not more important than another. The body uses different fats in different places depending on what it needs to do. For instance, poly-unsaturated fats are typically used by body parts that have the highest activity such as the brain and eyes. Each type of fat is vital to the body.

Foods in nature typically contain some combination of all three families of fats, and some foods contain more of one type then another. For example, avocados contain 28% saturated, 68% mono-unsaturated and 13% poly-unsaturated. Flax seeds are high in Omega 3 (63%) and sunflower seeds are high in Omega 6 (65%). Olives and nuts are typically high in the mono-unsaturated fats, and animal fat and coconut oil are high in saturated fats.
Essential fatty acids, or EFAs

Polyunsaturated fats are broken up into the Omega 6 family and the Omega 3 family. Each of these families has a “parent” fatty acid, also known as the essential fatty acids, or EFAs:

* Alph-linolenic acid (also called ALA or LNA) - the parent fatty acid in the Omega 3 family.
* Linoleic acid (LA) - the parent fatty acid in the Omega 6 family.

Technically, as long as the body has the parent fatty acid, the rest of the family can be made by the body. However, the body cannot make the parent fatty acids, thus the term, “essential fatty acids.” When you hear the word “essential” in nutrition, it means the body can’t make it on its own and has to get it from an outside source.