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This week I’ve been doing some reading about omega-3‘s, and I thought I’d pass along some of the things I’ve learned.

Omega-3 fatty acids have lots of double bonds, which act as pivot joints.  That’s why they are so important for movement and flexibility.  They are also essential in photosynthesis, wherein green leaves convert sunlight to food.  So you find lots of omega-3s in greens, especially leafy ones.  Omega-3s owe their flexibility to all those double bonds, the last of which is located just 3 carbons from the tail (omega) end of the molecule.  That’s why it’s called an omega-3 fatty acid.  “Omega” means end.

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Omega-3 fatty acids are found in all green plants, so eat your vegetables!  Interestingly, the largest mass of greens on Earth is phytoplankton, tiny sea plants that are eaten by little fish, which are then eaten by bigger fish, and so on.  Sea creatures eat tons of phytoplankton; in order to survive in their cold water environments, fish need at least 1% of their calories to come from omega-3s.  Warm-blooded animals need only half that.  This is why fish, fish oil, and algae are such good sources of omega-3s. 

Two important omega-3 fatty acids are DHA and EPA.  EPA is a blood thinner and has anti-inflammatory properties.  DHA is a component of cell membranes, keeping them flexible and functional.  With hundreds of possible configurations, DHA is like a “quick change artist.”  According to Susan Allport (author of The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them), “DHA creates membranes with…behavior that is almost liquid-like.”  Cell membranes aren’t inert, like dry wall.  They live and breathe, and they work hard to keep the internal environment of a cell completely separate from the outside environment.  Like needing a special pass to get backstage after a Lady Gaga concert.  

DHA makes up 25% of brain tissue.  It prevents abnormal heart rhythms, or “arrhythmias.”  It helps the eye to see better by increasing the amount of rhodopsin, a light-responsive protein found in rod cells in the retina.  DHA also appears to improve insulin sensitivity, which would mean that it lowers the risk of developing obesity and diabetes.  

Omega-3s have one important limitation:  Double bonds react easily with oxygen, which makes them unstable, chemically speaking.  In fact, fat oxidation is the major cause of food rancidity.  This reactivity makes omega-3s an unreliable way to store fat in nature.  That’s where omega-6s come into play.

Omega-6s, less reactive because they have fewer double bonds, are a much better choice for a different job: storage.  That’s why omega-6s are the main fat in grains and seeds, where long-term storage is all-important.  The stability of omega-6s makes them the preferred form of stored fat in plants.  Plants can convert omega-6s into omega-3s whenever they need some.  They store fat as omega-6s until seeds germinate and initiate photosynthesis.  Then they release an enzyme that converts omega-6s to omega-3s.  

Animals and humans do not have this enzyme, so once an omega-6, always an omega-6.  All the omega-6s we eat end up in our cell membranes as stiff as always.  

The stable chemical configuration of omega-6s increases shelf life considerably, which is why they’re the leading polyunsaturated fat of choice for processed food products, including vegetable oils.  It’s also why it’s not a coincidence that the ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s in our diet has climbed from about 1:1 throughout history to upwards of 75:1 today. 

Omega-6 fatty acids in plants serve as a stable, reliable system for storing fat until the plant needs omega-3s.  Omega-3s are flexible, and omega-6s are stiff.  Omega-3s are reactive, whereas omega-6s are stable.  Omega-6s, with fewer double bonds, are more stable and, therefore, less prone to oxidation and breakdown.  That is why omega-6s are found in highest concentration in grains and seeds.  Dry beans can remain viable for centuries under certain circumstances.  That’s clearly not true of lettuce, under any circumstances.  

Stiff membranes are good for seeds and grains, but not for green leaves or for  human brains, blood vessels, eyes, or joints.  High blood pressure, inflammation, insulin resistance, and platelet aggregation are predictable consequences of stiff cell membranes and suboptimal function.