Fats are one of the “Big Three” componants that all foods have to some degree. Proteins (amino acids), carbohydrates (sugars) and fats (essential fatty acids) are the main building blocks, fuels and carriers that your body requires to keep itself healthy. Fats are vital to your body in numerous ways:

Fats are used as storage units for energy (triglycerides).

Fats provide “padding” or “cushioning” as protection for your internal organs.

Fats assist with the utilization of fat-soluble vitamins (including A, D and E).

Fats are used as part of your body’s mechanism to insulate your internal components and vital organs from environmental conditions (like cold weather).

Fats guard against internal heat loss.

Fats combine with certain proteins creating diglyceride phospholipids, which are a part of every cell membrane wall.

Fats serve as anti-inflammatory mediators.

As we noted earlier, all components of life, including all foods, are made up of the four basic elements of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen.

Each component will contain varying amounts of some or all four of these elements. Water—H20—for example, has two atoms of hydrogen (H) combined with one atom of oxygen (O). Fats are comprised of mainly carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O), and are insoluble in water but soluble in ether and other solvents. Fats are divided up into two basic types, saturated and unsaturated, and are comprised of fatty acids and glycerol (an alcohol).

Fatty acids are the building blocks of fats, just as amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Fatty acids form “chains” through their carbon bonding. These carbon chains attract hydrogen to them. When each bonding site of a carbon chain has been bonded with a hydrogen atom, the chain—or fat—is considered saturated. These are generally considered long-chain fatty acids and because of their more complete, or “full,” bonding they become harder and have a higher melting point. In other words, the more saturated a fat is, the more it stays hard at room temperature. Unsaturated fats, on the

other hand, have less hydrogen bonding. When two or more adjacent carbon atoms are free of hydrogen bonding they are considered monounsaturated fatty acids. When two or more pairs or “sets” of carbon atoms within the chain are unbonded to hydrogen, we call these polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Three of the most common fatty acid chains found in human tissues are oleic acid (C18H3402), stearic acid (C18H3602), and palmitic acid (C16H3202). These three fatty acids when combined with glycerol form the three basic fats found in our foods, and are called triolein, tristearin and tripalmitin.

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS

The fatty acids that are essential to your body, but not naturally synthesized within the body, must therefore be obtained from your diet. These are known as essential fatty acids, and there are three basic ones: linoleic acid, linolenic acid and arachidonic acid. Linoleic acid is the most vital of the three as it can be converted into linolenic and arachidonic acids. In my opinion, humanity (through the medium of science) is in its infancy in understanding the true

needs of our homo sapien bodies. Types of essential fatty acids include:

LINOLEIC ACID—Promotes healthy skin and hair and is the main essential fatty acid.

LINOLENIC ACID — Promotes nerve and brain function.

ARACHIDONIC ACID — Promotes formation of prostaglandins,

thromboxanes, prostacylins and leukotrienes.

The Role of Essential Fatty Acids

1)   Used in the production of cholesterol, an anti-inflammatory lipid used to make steroids and phospholipids. Cholesterol is involved in the synthesis of vitamin D.

2)   Used to produce phospholipids, which are used in cell membrane walls. Involved in the production of prostaglandins, which serve as anti inflammatories and are involved in proper blood clotting.

3)   They increase immune response and function, especially of

4)      T-lymphocytes.

5)   Inhibits thromboxane, which is involved in platelet agitation.

6)   Promote healing.

7)   Strengthen nerve tissues and nerve response.

8)   Involved in the manufacture of hemoglobin. Thus involved indirectly in oxygen transport and the increase of oxygenation to tissues.

9)   Assist cell wall permeability.

10)                      Nourish and protect the skin, essential fatty acids and the utilization of vitamins A and E which help promote skin and hair health.

11)                      Increase the body’s ability to burn fat.

12)                      Affect regulation of the nerve response in the heart, thus affecting its rhythm.

13)                      Involved in maintaining proper body temperature.

14)  Used with bile salts to emulsify fats and make them ready for hydrolyzing.

15)                      Used in the development and function of the brain.

Fats are …

OXIDIZED

To carbon dioxide and water to produce energy

STORED

For future energy

CHANGED

To phospholipids for cell membrane walls. To acetyl groups for the synthesis of cholesterol and to make secretions, mucus, sebum, etc.

SOURCES OF FATS

The human body receives fatty acids in two ways: from foods—dietary fats which are absorbed through the intestinal wall, and through the conversion of excess amino acids (proteins and carbohydrates (sugars) into stored fats (glycogen and triglycerides). The following highlights two essential fatty acids (oils in liquid form) found in nature:

OMEGA-3 — These are “long-chained” metabolic by-products of the metabolism of linolenic acid. These oils are found mainly in flesh foods, especially fish oils. These oils tend to stay liquid at room temperature and are comprised of Eicosapentaenioic Acid (EPA), and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) and Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA).

OMEGA-6 — A plant-based form of essential fats of which GammaLinolenic Acid (GLA) is the most commonly known and researched. Vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds are nature’s sources of omega-6 fatty acids.

Top Food Sources of Omega-6 Oils

The following foods are rich in linolenic acid which metabolizes into Omega3 fatty acids.

FLAX SEED OIL—Also known as linseed oil. Has been used for over 5,000 years for many purposes. High in Linolenic Acid and GammaLinolenic Acid.

BLACK CURRENT SEED OIL — Known for its rich oils high in Linoleic Acid and Gamma-Linolenic Acid.

BORAGE OIL — The borage plant is known as “the adrenal” herb. The adrenal glands supply your body’s steroids, which are manufactured from cholesterol, one of the main products of essential fatty acids.

EVENING PRIMROSE OIL — This flower is also known as Evening Star and Night Willow. I have used Evening Primrose Oil in cases of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with great results. A rich source of Linoleic and Linolenic Acids.

A note of caution about oils: Never use cheap, refined, commercial or processed oils found in clear glass or clear plastic bottles. These oils are mostly rancid and full of solvents, pesticides and chemical preservatives, like BHA, BHT, methyl silicone, and others. These oils are “super-cooked” which means that most of their nutrition is lost, changed or bonded, causing body acidosis, and liver and kidney damage.

AN EXAMPLE OF FAT METABOLISM

As stated earlier, your body is not designed to absorb or use “structures.” Like proteins, fats are structures. They consist of chained or bonded fatty acids. Since your body and its cells can only use simple compounds for activity and sustenance, fats that are consumed from foods must be broken down into the fatty acids that comprise them, much the same way that proteins are broken down into amino acids. This digestive action takes place in the first part of the small intestine with the assistance of bile from the

liver/gallbladder. The following describes the process of fat digestion and metabolism:

1. Bile Salts emulsify fats and make them water-soluble so that pancreatic and intestinal lipase can convert them to fatty acids and glycerol.

2. Gastric juices—enzyme gastric lipase—converts (emulsifies) fats into fatty acids and glycerol (an alcohol).

3. Intestinal (duodenum) enzyme steapsin—a lipase from the pancreas converts fats into fatty acids and glycerol (an alcohol).

4. Fatty acids and glycerol bind to form neutral fats, which then bond to various proteins to form chylomicrons. Fats in this form are absorbed and carried throughout the lymphatic system and the blood system where they are dispersed to the tissues of the body. Fatty acids cannot be converted to glucose. However, they can enter the Krebs (energy) Cycle through acetyl groups.

5. Adipose (fatty) tissue is created for the body’s energy reserve and factors for cellular health and immunity.

Digestive and metabolic By-Products of Fats

NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS

Essential fatty acids

Fatty acids

Glycerol (an alcohol)

Glycerides

Water

TOXIC BY-PRODUCTS

Acetate (Acetone) (Ketone)

Aceto acetate (Acetoacetic acid) (Ketone)

Carbon dioxide

Betahydroxybutyric acid (Ketone)

Conclusion

When fats are oxidized into water and carbon dioxide, several by-products (ketones) are formed. These include acetone, acetoacetic acid and betahydroxybutyric acid. When these ketones are produced in excess, either through incomplete oxidation or excessive break down of body fats from high protein diets, a condition occurs called ketosis, which results in acidosis. This leads to tissue damage and hypo-function of cells (organs and glands).

Ketosis can also occur in hyperthyroidism, starvation, fevers, and various toxemias.

Keep it simple. All the substances that your body requires, including fats, are found in organic fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables. If it’s not in them, you don’t need it! Science has lost touch with the simplicity of health. Animals intuitively eat the food assigned for their particular species. So should you. However, there are chronic and degenerative cases where the supplementation of a small amount of plant oil, like Evening Primrose, will help tremendously. This is especially true in any neurological condition, such as M.S., Parkinson’s, and Lou Gehrig’s Disease.