Fatty acids and supplements

 

Nowadays, the great importance of fats in the diet is recognized. Its benefit or harm depends on the type of fat consumed, the amount ingested, their digestion and metabolism, the individual himself (general health, age, sex) and his lifestyle

.

In this article we are going to explain what fatty acids are, what types there are and their implications for health, focusing on two of them: omega-3 and omega-7.

What are fatty acids?

There are a variety of fatty acids in the human diet, in the blood stream, in cells and in tissues. Fatty acids are a source of energy and components of cell membranes. They have biological activities that act to influence cellular and tissue metabolism. Through their effects, fatty acids will influence health, well-being and the risk of disease. But not all fatty acids are the same or perform the same functions. The fatty acids present in the human diet are divided into two main groups: saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated fatty acids come mainly from animal products (and some vegetable oil) that we eat in our diet (meat, dairy products and derivatives, coconut oil). They are necessary as an energy supply, but their excessive intake can cause them to be deposited in cells, organs or blood vessels, thus affecting our health

.

Unsaturated fatty acids are divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fatty acids can be found in vegetables such as olive oil, avocado, etc. The main one is oleic acid, a type of omega-9 that has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, and palmitoleic acid or omega-7, which forms part of the membranes of the mucous cells of the entire body, and is essential both for its structure and for its functioning. Polyunsaturated fatty acids include omega-3 (ALA, EPA and DHA) and omega-6 (linoleic acid, GLA, DGLA and AA). They are known as essential fatty acids (EFAs) because our body is not able to synthesize them and, therefore, they must be ingested through diet or dietary supplementation

.

Focusing on Omega-3 and Omega-7

Why are they important to health? It is currently recognized and accepted that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), can be very beneficial for maintaining cardiovascular health and preventing hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels) and that they can promote other metabolic functions of the human body. There are many studies in this regard that corroborate this, so the EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) has successfully evaluated the role of EPA and DHA in maintaining normal heart function and that of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in particular, in maintaining normal brain function and vision.

Omega-3s are found in both vegetables and animals. Flax, chia and pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, soybean and rapeseed oil, and walnuts, among others, contain linolenic acid (ALA), which is the “parent” omega-3. But this omega-3 must be transformed by our body into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are those omega-3s that will have healthy properties for our health. Omega-3 from plant sources, in addition to not being effectively absorbed, its transformation into EPA and DHA is affected by excess omega-6, an unhealthy lifestyle (alcohol, tobacco, food additives), illness, drugs (statins)

and hormonal and metabolic factors.

As for animal sources, those with the highest content of omega-3 (in their EPA and DHA form) are seafood, such as krill, and fish, specifically blue fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel or anchovies. Although it is advisable to include them in our diet on a regular basis, we encounter two problems: we currently consume mostly farmed fish (a clear example is salmon, which is fed with vegetable feed rich in omega-6 and with a deficit of omega-3, the natural fat in these wild fish); the other problem is the large accumulation of heavy metals, especially in large blue

fish such as tuna.

Omega-7 is not an essential fatty acid because our body can synthesize it, but its intake has numerous health benefits. Omega-7 is present in macadamia nuts, avocados, some cheeses and egg yolks, among others. It is advisable to increase the daily requirement of this fatty acid through a standardized omega-7 supplement if we have increased requirements due to a health problem, such as dry eye syndrome, dry skin and vaginal

dryness.

Omega-3 and Omega-7 supplements

We already know the benefits of these two fatty acids, but an important task for both the health professional and the final consumer is to know how to choose the best dietary supplement from these two sources of fatty acids.

As sources of omega-3, while good-quality fish oils are a good option, Krill oil supplements have come to the fore in recent years. They provide a greater amount of EPA and DHA in the form of phospholipids, ensuring optimal fluidity of the membranes of red blood cells, brain cells and joint tissue, and greater bioavailability and absorption than omega-3 fish oil

.

Sea buckthorn fruit (Hippophae rhamnoides) oil has been used as a source of omega-7, and recently, a group of researchers has developed a process to obtain it from marine sources. It is a fish oil concentrate, with purified omega-7, from anchovies from sustainable fishing off the coast of Peru. This patented concentrate contains on average 50% of omega-7 and only 0.8% of palmitic acid, compared to 25/ 43% of omega-7 from sea-buckthorn plant sources (depending on the variety and origin), and around 30% of palmitic acid, also depending on the variety and

origin.