Essential Fatty Acids: These Are One of Them

What are essential fatty acids?

First, we explain which fatty acids are called essential.

• “Essential” means “substantial”, in connection with fatty acids, it means “essential for life” more precisely.
• This refers to fatty acids that the body needs but cannot synthesize from other nutrients. Essential fatty acids must be supplied to the body through diet.
• Chemically, fatty acids are a chain of carbon atoms. Attached to this chain is a structure made up of one carbon, two oxygen, and one hydrogen atom.
• The connection of the individual carbon atoms in the chain is of particular importance: there are single or double bonds here. If only single bonds are present, the fatty acids are said to be “saturated”.
• Fatty acids with double bonds are divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, depending on the number of double bonds present.

Some unsaturated fatty acids are essential

The body cannot produce some of the unsaturated fatty acids itself.

• These are alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, better known as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
• Both are unsaturated fatty acids that must be supplied to the body through food. Incidentally, the numbers, i.e. the 3 and the 6, describe the position of the double bond in the fatty acid.