Fatty Acids

Any well balanced and healthy diet should include fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids in particular are necessary for good health. There is often a shortage of omega 3 fatty acids in our diet - they are found in a number of foods but predominantly in fish, particularly oily fish such as herring or salmon. Essential fatty acids can improve the workings of your brain because more than 50% of the brain is made of fat.

Fatty acids are essential to our well being because they help to provide a protective barrier around the cells in our bodies. While we need fatty acids we don’t need trans-fatty acids. Trans-fatty acids and fast foods are almost synonymous because many fast foods are rife with saturated fat or trans-fatty acid is bad for your health. Trans-fatty acids are responsible for raising the cholesterol levels in the body and this can be dangerous for many people as it leads to heart disease. On the other hand omega-3 fatty acids can help to lower cholesterol and can lift our moods thus helping with depression. A lack of fatty acids can make skin conditions such as eczema worse.

A healthy diet may contribute to the fact that people are tall, oil, fatty acid and omega-3 fatty acid certainly contribute to healthy growth in children. The benefits of omega-3 fatty acids can be seen in school children who are much livelier than their class mates who are not getting enough fatty acids. There are many foods containing omega-3 fatty acids in small quantities but to get a sufficient amount we need to eat more fish or to take supplements – that is unless we can afford the best quality organic meat.

Omega-3 fatty acid is vital to good health – if our diet does not contain sufficient omega 3 acid, fatty acid supplements are often recommended by experts. When discussing different sources of omega 3 acid, a fatty omega source of this is cod liver oil. Our bodies need omega 3 acid, fatty omega, and other essential fatty acids – so we should make sure that we get enough omega 3 acid. Fatty fish is an omega source. Cod liver oil omega 3 is probably the most stable source of this essential fatty acid. Clearly we need more of it if we are to protect our bodies from disease, protect our skin and our joints, and live happier and healthier lives.