…Poly-unsaturated fats are even less stable than monounsaturated fats.  They are found in safflower, sunflower, soybean, grape seed, flaxseed, walnut, and fish oils.

Our bodies cannot produce poly-unsaturated fats; that’s why they’re called essential fatty acids.  Poly-unsaturated fatty acids are further divided into two sub-groups called omega-6 and omega-3.  Both are essential but the body requires them in a ratio that is not normally achieved by the typical diet of today’s industrialized nations.  Because of their wide-ranging roles, virtually every area of the human body is susceptible to problems if the balance of the two poly-unsaturates becomes out of kilter. Another consideration is the fact that they must be consumed regularly as the body has limited storage for them.

…the ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids is somewhere between 10 and 20 to 1 instead of  2:1.   Western diets are therefore deficient in omega-3 fatty acids compared to the diet on which humans evolved and their genetic patterns were established.

Key omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are both found primarily in oily cold-water fish such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel. Aside from fresh seaweed, a staple of many cultures, plant foods rarely contain EPA or DHA. However, a third omega-3, ALA, is found in dark green leafy vegetables, flaxseed oils, and certain vegetable oils.  Although ALA has different effects on the body than EPA and DHA do, the body has enzymes that can convert ALA to EPA

Researchers found that without a sufficient supply of polyunsaturated omega-3s, the body will use saturated fat to construct cell membranes, which compromises the elasticity and the cell walls.

Hydrogenated and trans fats are basically one in the same.  Hydrogenated fats are created in a lab from oil like soy, corn, cottonseed, or canola and chemically altered so that they become more stable, allowing them to last on the shelf longer.  The processing turns the oil into a trans fat.  When they are absorbed and incorporated into the body’s cell walls they change cell structure and function.  Trans fats actually inhibit important cell-to-cell communication and will block the body’s utilization of the good fats affecting the immune system and increasing cholesterol. 

The brain is 70% fat. Omega-3s help regulate mental health problems because they enhance the ability of brain-cell receptors to comprehend mood-related signals from other neurons in the brain. In other words, the omega-3s are believed to help keep the brain’s entire traffic pattern of thoughts, reactions, and reflexes running smoothly and efficiently.

There’s more but I’ll stop.  I take something called “The Total EFA” (essential fatty acids) I just never knew why. You’d be amazed at the how much a little cod liver oil can cure.