"Recall that the body requires fatty acids and is adept at synthesizing the majority of these from fat, protein, and carbohydrate. However, when we say essential fatty acid we are referring to the two fatty acids that the body cannot create on its own, namely, linolenic acid and linoleic acid.\n\n• Omega-3 Fatty Acids. At the helm of the omega-3 fatty acid family is linolenic acid. From this fatty acid, the body can make eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Linolenic acid is found in nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, and vegetable oil such as soybean, canola, and flaxseed. EPA and DHA are found abundantly in fatty fish.\n\n• Omega-6 Fatty Acids. At the helm of the omega-6 fatty acid family is linoleic acid. Like linolenic acid, the body uses linoleic acid to make other important substances such as arachidonic acid (ARA) that is used to make eicosanoids. Recall that eicosanoids perform critical roles in the body as they affect a broad spectrum of functions. The word eicosanoid originates from the Greek word eicosa, meaning twenty, because this hormone is derived from ARA that is twenty carbon atoms in length. Eicosanoids affect the synthesis of all other body hormones and control all body systems, such as the central nervous system and the immune system. Among the many functions eicosanoids serve in the body, their primary function is to regulate inflammation. Without these hormones the body would not be able to heal wounds, fight infections, or fight off illness each time a foreign germ presented itself. Eicosanoids work together with the body’s immune and inflammatory processes to play a major role in several important body functions, such as circulation, respiration, and muscle movement.\n\nAs our food choices evolve, the sources of omega-6 fatty acids in our diets are increasing at a much faster rate than sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are plentiful in diets of non-processed foods where grazing animals and foraging chickens roam free, eating grass, clover, alfalfa, and grass-dwelling insects. In contrast, today’s western diets are bombarded with sources of omega-6. For example, we have oils derived from seeds and nuts and from the meat of animals that are fed grain. Vegetable oils used in fast-food preparations, most snack-foods, cookies, crackers, and sweet treats are also loaded with omega-6 fatty acids. Also, our bodies synthesize eicosanoids from omega-6 fatty acids and these tend to increase inflammation, blood clotting, and cell proliferation, while the hormones synthesized from omega-3 fatty acids have just the opposite effect. While omega-6 fatty acids are essential, they can be harmful when they are out of balance with omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 fats are required only in small quantities. Researchers believe that when omega-6 fats are out of balance with omega-3 fats in the diet they diminish the effects of omega-3 fats and their benefits. This imbalance may elevate the risks for allergies, arthritis, asthma, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and many types of cancer, autoimmunity, and neurodegenerative diseases, all of which are believed to originate from some form of inflammation in the body."