Essential Fatty Acids and Non-Essential Fatty Acids

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What are the essential and non-essential fatty acids?

 There are two types of essential fatty acids linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Additionally,
the non-essential fatty acid includes palmitic acid, oleic acid, and butyric acid. These
essential fatty acids must be obtained from the diet because these cannot be manufactured
by the body. On the other hand, our body is capable of synthesizing most of the fatty
acids that it needs from food. Moreover, our body can produce non-essential fatty acids
through metabolic reactions. These fatty acids are known as nonessential fatty acids.
However, it is important to note that these non-essential fatty acids don’t mean
unimportant. These fatty acids are either saturated or unsaturated fats. Therefore, the
classification is based solely on the ability of the body to synthesize them (Allison
Calabrese & University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition
Program; Bruno, n.d.).

2. What do essential fatty acids do in the body?

 Essential fatty acids are what the body cannot produce on its own. They play an
important role in various bodily functions, including heart health, cancer prevention,
cognitive function, skin health, and obesity prevention. For example, Omega 3 (linolenic
acid) and Omega 6 (linoleic acid) can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, improve
memory, mood, arthritis, prevent cancer, lower cholesterol level, prevent blood clots, and
reduce heart disease. However, eating excess foods rich in Omega 6 could cause
inflammation and increases the risk of cancer. Moreover, essential fatty acids (EFA) are
also necessary for the formation of healthy cell membranes, proper development and
functioning of the brain and nervous system, hormone production, crucial for the
transport and breakdown of cholesterol, etc (Allison Calabrese & University of Hawai’i
at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition Program; MediLexicon International, n.d.).

3. Why we should not eat a bigger size of tilapia than the medium size tilapia in connection
with our topic on Essential and non-essential fatty acids? Explain the scientific reason for
their benefits and the danger of eating tilapia.

 We should not eat a bigger size of Tilapia because the bigger it gets the higher Omega 6
content will it gain. Consuming too much Omega 6 is a risk to our health because it could
cause inflammation and increases cancer risk. The recommended ratio of omega-6 to
omega-3 in the diet is typically as close to 1:1 as possible. In fact, several experts caution
against consuming tilapia if you are trying to lower your risk of inflammatory diseases
like heart disease (Weaver et al., 2008). However, consuming Tilapia in moderation is a
good source of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid. This helps to reduce the risk of
 Alzheimer’s disease, improve memory, mood, arthritis, prevent cancer, lower cholesterol
level, prevent blood clots, and reduce heart disease.
References:

Allison Calabrese, C. G., & University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition
Program. (n.d.). Nonessential and essential fatty acids. Human Nutrition DEPRECATED.
Retrieved from http://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/humannutrition/chapter/nonessential-
and-essential-fatty-acids/

Bruno, G. (n.d.). Essential fatty acids - Huntington University of Health Sciences. Retrieved
from https://www.huhs.edu/literature/Essential%20Fatty%20Acids.pdf

MediLexicon International. (n.d.). What are essential fatty acids? foods, definition, and
deficiency. Medical News Today. Retrieved from
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/essential-fatty acids#:~:text=Essential
%20fatty%20acids%20are%20fatty,skin%20health%2C%20and%20obesity
%20prevention.

Weaver, K. L., Ivester, P., Chilton, J. A., Wilson, M. D., Pandey, P., & Chilton, F. H. (2008).
The content of favorable and unfavorable polyunsaturated fatty acids found in commonly eaten
fish. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108(7), 1178–1185.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2008.04.023