Sidebar: Some quick fatty acids facts

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

• Fatty acids range in length from two to 22 carbon chains. Some fatty acids are saturated, which means that they lack double bonds in their carbon chain, while others are unsaturated, meaning that they have anywhere from one to six double bonds in their carbon chain. The final carbon atom at one particular end of the carbon chain is called the "omega" carbon.
   
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids have more than one double bond and are classified according to the location and number of double bonds in their chemical structure. Omega-3 fatty acids have their first double bond at the third carbon atom, while omega-6 fatty acids have theirs at the sixth carbon atom in the chain. The omega-3 fatty acids are linolenic, eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA).
   
• Flax is the most abundant source of linolenic acid, with canola oil coming in second, while insignificant levels are found in other sources of fats and oils. Fish oils are the only sources of the other two omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA).
   
• Canada has been the world's leader in the production and export of flax since 1994. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian flax production reached 1.035 million tonnes in 2005-2006. As one of the five major Canadian crops (including wheat, barley, oats and canola), flax is exported mainly to Europe (60 per cent), the United States (30 per cent), Japan (four per cent) and South Korea. BP