Fatty acids

This is a big subject, but we can simplify it by recognising the following:

Fatty acids are released when dietary fats are digested. The major fatty acids in our diet are composed of recurring segments of two carbon units making up long chains of fatty acids of 16, 18, 20, etc, carbon atoms, divisible by 2.

Almost all fatty acids in natural products contain an EVEN number of carbon atoms.

Fatty acids containing no double bonds are called saturated fatty acids and those with double bonds are called unsaturated fatty acids. Those with more than one double-bond are called polyunsaturated.

Trans Fatty Acids – This is a little more complicated, but put simply. if two parts of the fatty acid are on opposite sides of the double-bond, then the fatty acid is in the ‘trans’ form. Transfat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans isomer fatty acid(s). Transfats may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. These are the fatty acids we need to avoid in our diets as they are damaged and cause many health problems. You will find them in supermarket vegetable oils, most processed foods, fast foods, junk foods, breakfast bars, some breakfast cereals, chocolate bars and more.

Essential Fatty Acids are the ones our bodies do not produce so we have to get them from our diets. Known commonly as omega-3 and omega-6, their scientific names are alpha-linoleic acid and linoleic acid respectively. Omega-3 acids are derived from marine sources and omega-6 acids are derived from land-based sources of plants and animals. The best source of dietary omega-3 is in fresh organic fish and good pharmaceutical grade fish oil with good quantities of EPA/DHA. This is one supplement everyone could benefit from and a daily dose of 2-4g will help avoid heart disease and much more.

Watch out for more on this essential food on Cabbages and Cream.

See more from Dr Robert Buist on Nutritional Courses.

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Vegetarians from Mars - is the uproar focusing on health?

Some of the UK's best-selling chocolate bars, such as Mars and Twix, will no longer be suitable for vegetarians.

This was the announcement from the manufacturer of these chocolate bars, MasterFoods recently.

The Vegetarian Society said the company's move was "incomprehensible", and they are 'Extremely disappointed'

Within a week, 6,000 disappointed consumers set the manufacturers rushing into an about-turn with apologies for upsetting their buyers. Now there are lots of happy vegetarians and a very happy manufacturer, who has probably found sales have increased. Win-win for everyone?

Once the fuss dies down, who will ask the question ‘If vegetarians claim to be health conscious, why are they eating this product in the first place?’ Could it have something to do with wonky sugar levels and sugar cravings?

After all, in a diet that includes animal proteins, our bodies do not crave fat as much as a vegetarian diet. BUT the funny thing is that though a vegetarian may be craving fat as a result, his body can’t tell his brain what the cause of craving is, and because he or she is feeling like a pick me up, the first thing they may reach for is a chocolate bar! This will give them an immediate ‘lift’ and so incorrectly the brain tells the body – this is what you need when you get that craving

And so the vegetarian becomes a diabetic. Well, not quite as simply as that, but the principle is what counts. And another thing – chocolate bars are stacked with transfats – completely the wrong kind of fat for our bodies, which cause inflammation and heart disease. Imagine that – a diabetic vegetarian suffering from atherosclerosis! And all because of a drug induced dependency on a chocolate bar...

At least there will be no more Mars bar ads for children…

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