Essential fatty acid

Essential fatty acids are fatty acids that are required in the human diet. This means they cannot be synthesized by the body from other fatty acids and must be obtained from food.

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They were originally designated as Vitamin F, until it was realized that they are best classified with the fats.

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They were given the label "essential" when researchers found that removal of fatty acids from the diet harmed the normal growth of young children and animals.

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Linolenic acid, the shortest chain omega-3 fatty acid, and linoleic acid, the shortest chain omega-6 fatty acid, are essential fatty acids.

Related Topics:
Linolenic acid - Omega-3 fatty acid - Linoleic acid - Omega-6 fatty acid

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The most common fatty acids of each class are linolenic (18:3), EPA (20:5), DHA (22:6) for omega-3 and linoleic (18:2) and arachidonic (20:4) for omega-6.

Related Topics:
EPA - DHA - Arachidonic

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Some of the food sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are fish and shellfish, flaxseed (linseed), soya oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, hemp oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, leafy vegetables, and walnuts.

Related Topics:
Fish - Shellfish - Flaxseed (linseed) - Soya oil - Canola (rapeseed) oil - Hemp oil - Chia seeds - Pumpkin seeds - Leafy vegetables - Walnuts

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Essential fatty acids play a part in many metabolic processes, and there is evidence to suggest that low levels of essential fatty acids, or the wrong balance of types among the essential fatty acids, may be a factor in a number of illnesses.

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See also:

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• Prostaglandin
• Leukotriene
• Essential amino acids

Some text in this article was originally taken from the public domain resource at the USDA

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Essential fatty acid: References ►