Alpha, Beta, Gamma . . . Boo!!!

What are Omega-9s? Are they important? Are they in Granola?

Posted by: David

David,

There are only two types of fat that you HAVE to consume because your body can't produce them by itself, thus aptly named Essential Fatty Acids. They are Omega-3s and Omega-6s. As Americans, we get plenty o' sixes and less of the threes. This isn't terrible because we need more sixes. Interestingly, no one really knows how much of either we actually need to survive. The recommendation is based on the average amount consumed in America where we typically have no dietary fat deficiency of 6s or 3s. So the powers that be concluded, "Just take the average and call it a day." I won't go into numerical details because I don't think pointing out that you need 17 grams of Omega-6 would mean much to the layperson.

What was your question? Ah, Omega-9, aka oleic acid. Forget about it. As far as I know, if someone is hyping an Omega-9 supplement, it's strictly to make a buck on a nutrient that you don't even need to consume. In fact, Omega-9s are synthesized in the body "and are not required in the diet." They're just trying to scare you with greek letters. Granola probably does have Omega-9 in it as this type of fat is abundant in nuts. In fact, despite not needing to consume it, oleic acid is abudant in most fatty foods.

Comments

[LuLu]

are you sure? I sure feel like a million bucks taking Udo's and hemp seed oil and have not felt this great in years, plus my hair shines like gloss and my skin feels great.

[Susan]

Right, these oils (Udo's Choice Blend and hemp seed) are much higher in omega-3s and omega-6s than omega-9s. That's a good thing.