You need HUFAs and PUFAs
equazen is concerned with two families of essential fatty acids, Omega-3 and Omega-6. The numbers refer to the points on the molecules where the first double-bonds are located, in relation to the methyl terminus. For instance, in Omega-6 fatty acids, such as Gamma Linolenic Acid, the first double-bond is found between the 6th and 7th Carbon atoms, when counting from the methyl end.
These fatty acids are sometimes called Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (LC PUFAs) or Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs). This is because they consist of a long chain of carbon molecules, and some of the bonds holding the carbon atoms together are unsaturated (not attached to hydrogen). This is in comparison with Saturated Fatty Acids (SAFAs).
In SAFAs, every carbon molecule on the chain is attached to two hydrogen molecules (while the final, methyl carbon is attached to three). Hence they are regarded as saturated fats because they are saturated with hydrogen. We should also mention Monounsaturated Fatty Acids, such as olive oil, which have only one unsaturated double bond.
Only the base fatty acids derived from the diet, Linoleic and Alpha Linolenic, are regarded as essential by some nutritionists. This is because these cannot be manufactured by the body, and must be found from an external source. The body then manufactures other fatty acids from these precursors, a process shown in the fatty acid pathways. Some purists call those other manufactured compounds ‘derived essential fatty acids.’
When at least 20 carbon atoms make up the backbone chain, which contains multiple unsaturated bonds, we get the most complex and indeed unstable of the fatty acids: the Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (HUFAs). For practical purposes, ‘essential fatty acids’ can be said to include both the dietary parent fatty acids, and the HUFAs formed from them. equazen's oils are rich in HUFA, the fatty acids that play a key role in the body.
The difference in structure between saturated and unsaturated alters the molecular behaviour. It is the key reason why some fats are regarded as ‘good’ and others ‘bad’.
SAFA carbon chains are straight, with no double bonds and are slow to react with other chemicals. Longer chain SAFAs are ‘sticky’ and tend to congregate together. They play a role in cardiovascular disease, helping the build up of cholesterol in cells, organs and arteries as a very sticky, hard substance with a high melting point.
HUFAs, by comparison, are more dynamic. This is because they are generally more “kinked” in shape meaning that each molecule tends to take up more space and the resulting congregations pack together less easily. Thus, while SAFAs tend to aggregate, HUFAs tend to disperse, to move apart, and to be ‘anti-sticky’. The more double bonds there are, the greater their tendency is to disperse.
The properties of HUFAs help provide the fluidity needed in cell membranes. Fluidity allows molecules within our membranes the freedom to move, to make and break contacts with one another and to fulfil important chemical and transport functions.