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Our bodies require a balanced mixture of three essential macronutrients to function properly: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Yes, that's right, fats! Fats, over the last several years, have taken an extremely bad wrap. This is mainly due to the misunderstanding of the different types of fats, how each type of fat interacts with our bodies, and what fats our bodies need.

Good fats vs. bad fats
The major components in fats are fatty acids. Fatty acids are made up of long hydrocarbon chains that have a carboxyl group (COOH) at the top. It is that COOH group that makes the chain an acid.

Fatty acids are categorized according to their carbon-hydrogen makeup into three groups; polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated. Good fats are all derived from polyunsaturated fats, and bad fats belong to the monounsaturated and saturated fats families.

Polyunsaturated fats are subcategorizes into two essential fatty acids, linoleic and Gamma-linolenic acid (Omega 6) and linolenic acid (Omega 3).

An easy way to identify saturated and polyunsaturated fats from each other is that the former are solid at room temperature, and the latter are liquid at room temperature.

Why do we need fat?
Fat is an essential part of a healthy diet, and all well-rounded diets contain a certain amount of fat. Our bodies are made up of trillions and trillions of cells, which consist of 200 different varieties. What does each of the cells have in common: their need for essential fatty acids. Every cell's membrane uses essential fatty acids (EFA), as their base building block. If you're deficient in EFA's then you deprive the cell membranes of a healthy growth cycle. Fatty acids are required to maintain normal growth and function of all our body's systems.

Our bodies need approximately 20 different fats to maintain normal growth and proper bodily function. Our bodies can synthesize all but 2 of these fatty acids. Those two fatty acids are known as the Essential Fatty acids (EFA's). These two EFA's are Omega-6 (linoleic acid) and Omega-3 (linolenic acid). EFA's must be obtained in a certain proportion from foods or supplements to maintain optimum cell functions. Current research suggests we need EFA's in a 1:1 ratio.

Where's the fat?
A healthy diet will obtain the necessary fats from unrefined polyunsaturated fats. Present studies suggest, that 30% of our calories should be from fat. However, today's "Western" diet is well above that 30% and high in saturated and hydrogenated fat and deficient in unrefined polyunsaturated fats. "Westerners" eat abundant quantities of processed foods, and the majority of all processed foods have high-levels of saturated fats. Saturated fats are more shelf stable than polyunsaturated fats. This is the main reason that food manufacturers use them over the more healthy fats like polyunsaturated fats.

Saturated fats clog arteries and lead to other cardiovascular diseases. Hydrogenated vegetable oils are high in saturated fat and a major byproduct of the hydrogenation process is trans fatty acids. Our bodies become bogged down processing Trans fatty acids and then have trouble processing EFA's.

Fatty acids can be obtained from three sources: vegetable and nut oils, dairy products, or meats. Omega 6 fatty acids are easier to come by than Omega 3. There are several items you are probably using, which contain Omega 6 fatty acid, like sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil. These oils contain only trace amounts of Omega 3 fatty acid. The two most popular and readily available sources to obtain Omega 3 fatty acids are from fish, like salmon and from flax seed oil.

Oils you purchase at the grocery store contain a mixture, high in monosaturated and saturated fat and low levels of polyunsaturated fats. For example, Olive oil has 9% Omega 6, 1% Omega 3, 75% monounsaturated, and 15% saturates. The trick is to find an oil and other processed foods that have a health blend of polyunsaturated fats and contains only minimal amounts monounsaturated and saturated fats, or to restrict the amount of those products altogether.

How do I know if I am not getting enough EFA's?
Signs of essential fatty acid deficiency may include dry and brittle hair and nails, low energy level, lowered immune system, cardiovascular diseases, fungal infection, and a whole host of other degenerative diseases.