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Omega
Nutrition is committed to:
- Manufacturing the highest quality unrefined, organic oils and
related products from the best raw material available.
- Providing customers with packaging that best protects these
oils and their valuable nutrients.
- Being on the cutting edge of research and development of products
that will contribute to enhancing the health and diet of consumers.
- Continually educating the public on fats and oils.
- Operating, serving, and living with honesty and integrity.
SATURATED AND UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS
Fatty acids are classified as either saturated monounsaturated
(e.g. Omega -9 FA), polyunsaturated (e.g Omega - 6 EFA) and (super)
polyunsaturated (e.g. Omega - 3 EFA), referring to their carbon
- hydrogen makeup. The more hydrogen, the greater the degree of
saturation and solidity. Vegetable oils, such as sunflower, sesame,
safflower, largely contain unsaturated fatty acids. Butter, margarine
and animal fats, solid at room temperature, have high levels of
saturated fatty acids.
FATTY ACID PROFILE FOR VEGETABLE OILS
The greater the saturation of a fat, the more stable it is (less
prone to oxidation and rancidity and also less sensitive to heat).
This makes coconut oil better suited for cooking purposes than oils
high in poly and superpolyunsaturates. Canola oil, even though high
in monounsaturates, is NOT recommended for cooking due to its Omega-3
content.
CIS AND TRANS-FATTY ACIDS
The natural molecular shape of unsaturated fatty acids is the cis
form (horseshoe shaped). The cis fatty acid is easily incorporated
into the walls and mitochondria of human cells. When subjected to
hydrogenation or to high temperatures ( above 160`C/320`F) during
other refining processes or cooking, the cis form changes to a trans
form (straight). The distorted trans fatty acid weakens cell walls,
leaving the cell vulnerable to invasion, and causes swelling and
impairment of the mitochondria. It is then no longer able to participate
in essential fatty acid functions.
Literature list for more information on essential fatty acids
2. Prostaglandins
An excerpt from Tripping Down Prostaglandin's Pathways, Price-Pottenger
Nutrition Foundation Health Journal, Vol.2, No.3, Fall 1996. By
Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, Ph.D.
Prostaglandins are a subset of a larger family of substances called
eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are localized tissue hormones that seem
to be the fundamental regulating molecules in most forms of life.
They do not travel in the blood like hormones, but are created in
the cells to serve as catalysts for a large number of processes
including the movement of calcium and other substances into and
out of cells, dilation and contraction, inhibition and promotion
of clotting, regulation of secretions including digestive juices
and hormones, diuresis and salt retention, and control of fertility,
cell division, cell division and growth.
Prostaglandins are produced in the cells by the action of enzymes
on essential fatty acids. There are two prostaglandin pathways,
one that begins with omega-6 linoleic acid and one that begins with
omega-3 linolenic acid.
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