Understanding Omega Oils
AKA omega 3 fish oils, omega 3 oils, essential fatty acids, efa, omega 3 fatty acids, fatty acids,
Up until the early 1900's most diseases were caused by infectious contamination such as: the black plague, TB, small pox, diphtheria, typhoid, etc. The cause was identified easily because they were acute, called so because they attacked quickly. They spread rapidly due to poor hygiene and a lack of understanding germs (bacteria and virus).
Not now, today most diseases are usually chronic conditions. Now we battle: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, obesity, arthritis, allergies, Celiac Disease, ADD, MS, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, body dysmorphia, self cutting, etc. These diseases are not recognized as plagues because they usually develop over years and are caused by toxins and/or deficiencies.
As we introduced processed foods, nutrients were sacrificed for shelf life and convenience. This gave birth to maladies, as those mentioned above, unknown to earlier generations. This, coupled with the new fear of fats, led to low-fat diets and foods depleted of vitamins and minerals causing a nutrient deficient yet obese generation.
It is not commonly talked about but poor nutrition cause a disease, there are many well known diseases that are just that, a lack of a nutrient. Examples being:
- Beri beri which is a B1 vitamin deficiency characterized by a nerve and muscle deterioration and if deficiency last long enough severe psychosis.
- Pellagra where slaves in the US went insane from a lack of B3 aka niacin caused by a diet consisting of only corn.
- Scurvy, the most commonly known condition caused tissue deterioration and shipmen's flesh to seep blood from their vitamin C deficient bodies.
All of these conditions were virtually cured by ingesting the missing substance.
Our bodies are miraculously and wonderfully made, and are quite resilient. As a matter of fact, the body can manufacture all vitamins but C and 20 different amino acids. But there are some nutrients called "essential". They are called essential because they are both "essential" for good health and because they must be ingested as the body can not produce them.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) aka Vitamin F, are needed by every cell and function of the body. It is often underestimated how much of these oils our bodies need. Our brain alone is made up of 70% of fatty acids.
Like the B vitamins, there are several members of the Vitamin F family. Let's take them one by one. The Omega brothers, i.e. Omega 3, 6 and 9. Given their number because of their molecular make up. Fatty acid molecules form in a chain of carbons "C" to which is attached Hydrogen "H" and Oxygen "O"
Saturated fats is where there are no missing hydrogen and are no double bonds, these fats are straight, unbendable.
Unsaturated fats either mono (one) or poly (man) can contort to different shapes. The category of the fat, Omega 3, 6 or 9 can be understood if you think of a unsaturated fatty acid chain as a centipede, and to each of its section where the leg comes out the centipede is wearing a sneaker.
These 3 centipede triplets, look very much the same except they have all lost sneakers on their legs starting on different sections of their body. That is how you tell them apart.
If You start at their head and count back 3 and notice the first centipede is lacking 1 pair of sneakers starting on his 3rd section, so he binds them together to keep his balance. He is Omega 3. His brother has those sneakers, but missing a pair starting on the 6th section of his body. He is Omega 6 and the last one has all his sneakers except starting on the 9th section of his body. He is Omega 9.
