All fatty acids hold enormous potential for the body, in that they are converted into other molecules that perform vital roles in regulating, mediating, inducing and countering myriad body functions.
It has been ascertained that people need to consume polyunsaturated Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids in order to be able to live. The main sources of these fatty acids are vegetable fats (Omega-6) and fat fish (Omega-3).
A normal diet consists of around 30 % dietary fat, 55-60 % carbohydrates and 10-15 % protein. Dietary fat contains many different fatty acids, including Omega-3 and Omega-6, bound to triglycerides (intake around 90 g per day), phospholipids (intake 4-8 g per day) and cholesterol (intake around 0.3 g per day).
Dietary fat is carried intact by mouth and stomach to the small intestine where it is mixed with bile acid and enzymes and converted into fatty acids. The free fatty acids are taken up by intestinal cells and liver cells that use the fatty acids as building blocks in the production of their own triglycerides and phospholipids.
Dietary fat is carried to the blood via the small intestine, the lymph node system and the liver and transported to all of the body’s cells along with cholesterol, bound to protein.
These are bundled along with cholesterol and protein into various “boats” (VLDL, LDL, HDL, chylomicrons) that carry the fatty acids in the body’s flow systems, lymph nodes and blood, to all the body’s cells.
LDL cholesterol carries fatty acids in the blood to all of the body’s cells
Cholesterol is carried to the cells principally by the “LDL” boat, while surplus cholesterol is carried back to the liver in the “HDL” boat and transformed into bile acid. Triglycerides choose to travel mainly on the “VLDL” and “chylomicron” boats, while phospholipids position themselves “on deck” in the different boats. The protein in the boats recognizes the stopping points (the receptors) in the cells that utilise Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids as building blocks in the membranes surrounding the cell and the components inside the cell.