Essential fatty acids cannot be synthesized by the body and are precursors for EPA, DHA, and arachidonic acid. Subscribe to Nourishable at    / nourishable  

This video is part 7 of the Lipid Foundations module within a lecture series on the nutrition science of macronutrients.

Lipid Foundations Lecture playlist:    • Lipid Foundations  

Macronutrients Lecture playlist:    • Macronutrients Lectures  

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Lecture Development, Hosting & Post-Production by Lara Hyde, PhD
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Video Production by Robbie Hyde
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Opening Motion Graphics by Jay Purugganan https://www.c9studio.com/WP/

The information in this video is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this video is for general information purposes only.

References
Chapter 6 Lipids in Wardlaw’s Perspectives in Nutrition, 2019 (Editors: Byrd-Bredbenner, Moe, Berning and Kelley, 11th edition)
Chapter 4 - Lipids, Sterols, and their Metabolites in Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 2014 (Editors: Ross, Caballero, Cousins, Tucker and Ziegler; 11 edition)

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Whatever happened to vitamin? Back in 1927, researchers Evans and Burr found that if they fed mice a fat-deficient diet supplement with fat soluble vitamins, that the mice developed scaly skin, tail necrosis, poor growth, and early mortality. At first they thought there must a new vitamin, vitamin F! But they found that they could reverse these symptoms when they fed a specific type of fat called linoleic acid, a type of omega-6 fat. The reason that this doesn't qualify as a vitamin is because we need higher amounts, therefore they are considered macronutrients. Human infants fed formula lacking these fatty acids also demonstrated poor growth. Two essential fatty acids have been identified: linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. Humans don't have enzymes that can insert double bonds at the necessary positions to create these omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Alpha-linolenic acid is used as a precursor to make eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), while linoleic acid is a precursor for arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is a precursor for inflammatory eicosanoids, whereas the omega-3 fatty acids are precursors for anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. EPA and DHA are essentially fatty acids for cell membranes in neural tissue which require highly fluid membranes.