Everyone wants to lead a healthy lifestyle, but modern life is busy, and we may not always have the time to cook healthy meals or even know how to. This is where supplements come in, and combined omega 3-6-9 supplements provide a convenient way to ensure we get all the essential omega fatty acids that are critical to our overall health.

What Are Omega Fatty Acids?

Omega fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that we need to consume through food or supplements because our bodies cannot produce them. They are essential for human growth and development and have many important health benefits.

The omega fatty acids are divided into omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 based on the position of the first double unsaturated bond from the end of the molecular chain.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 is the most popular among unsaturated fats and is necessary for human growth and development. The omega-3 group is made up of different types of unsaturated fatty acids whose molecular chains vary in shape and size. The most popular ones are ALA, EPA, and DHA, and they play important roles in regulating, preventing, and treating cardiovascular diseases, reducing inflammation, managing mental disorder symptoms, and improving eye and nerve tissue development.

There are many natural sources of omega-3 acids, including animal sources such as salmon and plant sources such as flax seeds.

Omega-6 Fatty Acids

Omega-6 fatty acids are considered essential and need to be consumed through the food in our diet. They play an important role in keeping our health in check and are mostly used to prevent and fight coronary heart disease, regulate the immune system, reduce inflammation, and prevent heart diseases.

Good sources of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats include dairy, meats, fish oil, eggs, soybeans, corn, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and tofu, among others.

Omega-9 Fatty Acids

Unlike the omega 3 and 6 polyunsaturated fats, omega-9 is a group of monounsaturated fats. They are nonessential because the human body can produce them, and you don’t have to take supplements to regulate their intake. The most common one among the omega-9 fatty acids is oleic acid, which reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and inflammation.

Good sources of omega-9 are olive oil, cashew nut oil, almond oil, avocado oil, peanut oil, almond, and cashews.

Omega 3, 6, and 9 Health Benefits

Omega fatty acids have many important health benefits that have been extensively studied and researched. They help with improving heart disease risk factors, alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms, manage chronic inflammation, keep autoimmune diseases under control, improve mental disorder symptoms, reduce liver fat, and are crucial for eye and nerve tissue development, among many others.

Omega-3 Vs. Omega-6

Although both omega-3 and omega-6 are essential fatty acids that we need to consume through food and supplements, they have different chemical structures and regulate different immune system functions. Omega-3 regulates anti-inflammatory processes, while omega-6 is responsible for pro-inflammatory processes.

Finally, omega-6 fatty acids are present in many foods consumed regularly in western society, while omega-3-rich-food consumption is lower than ever. To control the presence of omega-6 fatty acids in your body, you must lower the intake of processed seeds and seed oils.

Should You Take Omega 3-6-9 Supplements?

While disbalance in fatty acid ratios in the human body can lead to inflammation and various other diseases, supplements can help us balance the presence of fatty acids in the body and give us the right proportions. However, many of us probably already get enough omega-6 through food, and our bodies can produce omega-9.

Combined omega 3-6-9 supplements provide a convenient way of ensuring we get all the essential omega fatty acids critical to our overall health. When choosing a good supplement, make sure it is from reputable brands that source their ingredients carefully and transparently and follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).