WEBVTT - What is an Omega-3 fatty acid?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from house stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart happens. Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>what is an omega three fatty acid? Just about every

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<v Speaker 1>day you hear someone reminding you to eat more omega three's.

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<v Speaker 1>It might be an advertisement or the label on a

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<v Speaker 1>food package, or your doctor or your spouse. Chances are

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<v Speaker 1>that someone somewhere will nag you today about omega three's.

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<v Speaker 1>But what is an omega three fatty acid? In order

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<v Speaker 1>to discuss omega three's, we have to lay a foundation,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is going to require a little visualization. So

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<v Speaker 1>what I want you to do is start by visualizing

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<v Speaker 1>one molecule of diesel fuel, Yes, diesel fuel, that's no joke.

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<v Speaker 1>A molecule of diesel fuel is a hydrocarbon made up say,

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<v Speaker 1>of twelve carbon atoms in a chain, and twenty six

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<v Speaker 1>hydrogen atoms arranged around the carbons. If you put lots

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<v Speaker 1>of those molecules together, you can run a diesel engine.

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<v Speaker 1>A typical fat molecule looks like three molecules of diesel

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<v Speaker 1>fuel hooked together by a little piece called glycerol. This

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<v Speaker 1>is why fats are called triglycerides. They have three chains,

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<v Speaker 1>and then a little thing that hooks them together. That's

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<v Speaker 1>a triglyceride. You may have heard of a fuel called biodiesel.

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<v Speaker 1>It's made by stripping off that glycerol connector to free

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<v Speaker 1>up the three diesel fuel molecules. Biodiesel is just like

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<v Speaker 1>diesel fuel made from crude oil, except that biodiesel doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>contain any of the impurities like sulfur that make diesel

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<v Speaker 1>fuel smell funny. Bottom line, when we eat fat, we

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<v Speaker 1>are eating something that is an awful lot, like diesel fuel.

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<v Speaker 1>Our bodies can use the fat immediately as fuel, or

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<v Speaker 1>they can store the fat as fuel for future use.

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<v Speaker 1>If someone is thirty pounds overweight, they essentially have thirty

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<v Speaker 1>pounds of diesel fuel on board roughly four gallons. It's

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<v Speaker 1>in storage for future use. Those three diesel fuel molecules

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<v Speaker 1>in the trigulyceride are called fatty acids because they have

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<v Speaker 1>a little knob on one end that makes the acidic,

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<v Speaker 1>and those fatty acid molecules come in several different forms.

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<v Speaker 1>A fatty acid is said to be saturated if it

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<v Speaker 1>has the maximum number of hydrogen atoms around the carbon chain.

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<v Speaker 1>Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, and they're commonly

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<v Speaker 1>found in meat. Saturated fats are said to be bad

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<v Speaker 1>because they have a greater tendency to stick to artery

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<v Speaker 1>walls and clog them up. If a fatty acid does

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<v Speaker 1>not contain a full complement of hydrogen atoms, it is

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<v Speaker 1>said to be unsaturated. If it is missing just one hydrogen,

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<v Speaker 1>it's said to be mono unsaturated. Olive oil is a

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<v Speaker 1>good example and is said to be one of the

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<v Speaker 1>healthiest fats you can eat. If a fatty acid is

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<v Speaker 1>missing more than one hydrogen atom, it's said to be

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<v Speaker 1>polly unsaturated. All unsaturated fats, whether they're mono unsaturated or

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<v Speaker 1>polly unsaturated, are liquid at room temperature, so we call

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<v Speaker 1>them oils. There are several different kinds of fatty acids

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<v Speaker 1>that are called essential fatty acids. They are essential because

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<v Speaker 1>our bodies have no way to make them internally. The

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<v Speaker 1>only way for your body to get the essential fatty

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<v Speaker 1>acids it needs is by eating them. Some of these

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<v Speaker 1>essential fatty acids are called omega six fatty acids, and

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<v Speaker 1>the rest are called omega three fatty acids. Now, with

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<v Speaker 1>all this knowledge under our belts, we can talk about

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<v Speaker 1>omega three fatty acids. Both omega three and omega six

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<v Speaker 1>fatty acids are poly unsaturated, meaning that they are missing

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<v Speaker 1>several hydrogen atoms along the carbon chain. The three and

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<v Speaker 1>the six refer to the position on the carbon chain

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<v Speaker 1>where the first hydrogen atom is missing and omega three

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<v Speaker 1>fatty acid is missing a hydrogen atom three carbons up

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<v Speaker 1>from the end, and omega six, on the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>is missing a hydrogen atom six positions up. The reason

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<v Speaker 1>why omega threes are so important is because they are rare.

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<v Speaker 1>Omega six fatty acids can be found in just about

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<v Speaker 1>any oil, including corn oil, soybean oil, and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>To get omega three's, on the other hand, you have

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<v Speaker 1>to work at it. Walnuts contain omega three's, and so

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<v Speaker 1>do flax seeds and certain kinds of fish like salmon.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition, you would like to have an even balance

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<v Speaker 1>between omega three's and omega sixes, but because omega three's

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<v Speaker 1>are so rare, a typical American might get twenty times

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<v Speaker 1>more omega sixes than omega three's, and that's bad. Heart

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<v Speaker 1>disease is a leading killer in the United States. One

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<v Speaker 1>cause of heart disease is the wrong kind of fats.

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<v Speaker 1>The lack of omega three fatty acids in a typical

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<v Speaker 1>American diet is the problem. The reason why you hear

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<v Speaker 1>people talking about omega three fatty acids all the time

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<v Speaker 1>is because if you get enough of them, it means

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<v Speaker 1>better heart health. So what do you need to do?

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<v Speaker 1>You need to start eating things like walnuts, flax seed,

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<v Speaker 1>flax seed oil, salmon, and other fish that contain omega three's.

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<v Speaker 1>That way, you start to balance out the ratio of

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<v Speaker 1>omega three and omega sixes in your diet and it

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<v Speaker 1>makes you healthier. Do you have any ideas or suggestions

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<v Speaker 1>for this podcast? If so, please send me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more

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