Polyunsaturated fatty acids: where they are found and what they are for

Why is it customary to eat fish on friday?

It is a tradition derived from a general precept of the Catholic Church that advocated the consumption of fish as a sign of abstinence and refraining from the pleasure of eating meat. Meat, in fact, was a sought-after and excessively consumed food, especially by medieval upper bourgeoisie families.

However, had there been the right medical and nutritional knowledge at that time, they would have surely understood that eating fish was not so much a penance but rather an advantage for one’s health!

Fish is, in fact, one of the primary sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids, molecules indispensable for numerous biological functions and the maintenance of a state of well-being.

What are polyunsaturated fatty acids?

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known by the acronym PUFA (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids), are molecules consisting of long carbon chains that have at least two double bonds (if there is only one double bond, they are then called monounsaturated fatty acids).

In nature, numerous types of polyunsaturated fatty acids exist, differing in the number of carbon atoms and double bonds present. There is a specific nomenclature necessary to distinguish them.

Our interest are the omega-3 fatty acids, also called alpha-linolenic acid, and omega-6 or linoleic acid, which are defined as essential fatty acids (EFA) because our body cannot synthesize them and they must be introduced through a diet.

In general, we can affirm that omega-3 fatty acids are mainly found in fish, especially in fatty fish like salmon.

Omega-6, on the other hand, are present in good percentages in vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, borage oil, rapeseed oil, with the exception of flaxseed oil, which has a higher quantity of omega-3 fatty acids.

As already mentioned, polyunsaturated fatty acids are involved in numerous biological reactions; they are indispensable for:

• Production of energy
• Formation of cell membranes
• Transfer of oxygen from air to blood
• Hemoglobin synthesis
• Prostaglandin function
• Proper hormonal balance and hormonal production.

Therefore, it is a good habit to eat fish once, preferably twice a week, along with nuts and to alternate dressing with extra virgin olive oil and seed oils to maintain a consistently balanced intake of essential fatty acids.

Deficiencies in fatty acids lead, in the long run, to profound biological alterations in various organs and tissues, such as:

• Skin conditions such as eczema, acne, dry skin, and hair and nail fragility,
• Predisposition to allergies in general,
• Fatigue (a sense of weariness and lack of energy),
• Hormonal imbalances,
• Diseases with cardiac and circulatory disorders.

Due to poor, unbalanced, and monotonous diets, deficiencies in essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are increasingly common. Their intake is especially insufficient in Western populations, where fish consumption is becoming more sporadic.

For these reasons, the supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids beyond dietary intake is necessary, for example, by using oil derived from the pressing of Borage (Borago officinalis), Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), and Perilla (Perilla frutescens) seeds, the three plants that contain the highest percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids found in nature.