Chapter 6: Essential and Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Human Health

Nowadays it is well known that dietary fat is not only a source of energy for the human body, and that humans need certain fat components for the proper maintenance of health. Some of the fatty acids which are part of dietary fat cannot be synthesized in the human organism, due to a lack of some of the necessary components for their metabolization. These fatty acids are named essential fatty acids and a lack of ingestion of these products can lead to deficiency-type diseases. The essential fatty acids are precursors of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, that have an influence in several human physiology functions. Although they are closely related to the development and course of many non-transmissible chronic diseases, their effects have been most studied in the case of the prevention and adjunctive therapy of obesity, inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, and cancer, as well as in the potentiation of the immune system. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to provide a broad review of the effects of the balance between n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the above-mentioned diseases, with special emphasis on their action in inflammatory metabolites, and their inclusion in cell membranes of different organs.