Fatty acids Bad fats and risk of cancer.

Fatty acids

The correlation between fat consumption and the risk of cancer seems to depend on the specific types of fat and their constituent fatty acids. Fatty acids can be separated into 3 classes on the basis of their carbon-carbon bonds, as follows:

·                            Saturated fatty acids, such as stearic acid, contain no carbon-carbon double bonds.

·                            Monounsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid, have a single carbon-carbon bond.

·                            Polyunsaturated fatty acids, including linoleic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, have 2 or     more carbon-          carbon bonds.

Trans fat is an industrially created unsaturated fat that is neither necessary nor beneficial. Trans fat may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.  Trans fats are bad fats.

Fatty acids are generally found in foods and in fat deposits as triglycerides or neutral fat, in which 3 fatty acids are esterified to a single molecule of glycerol. In cell membranes, fatty acids exist as phospholipids, in which one of the fatty esters is replaced by a head group such as choline, serine, or inositol. Phospholipids are integral components of cellular membranes; they are responsible for maintaining cellular integrity and for regulating membrane enzymes, cell-signaling processes, and the construction of cellular receptors.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids (O-3 FA) are found in:

nuts,

avocado 

berries

fish

Incorporate one of these food sources in your daily food intake to get your O-3 FAs.