Posted on February 18, 2011 by Joel Putland

Eating fats to get skinny and increase muscle mass?

We all know how important it is to give our body what it needs in order to maintain good health and normal functions, and here is the skinny on good fats for your diet and the many health and weight loss benefits of Omega 3,6 and 9 super fatty acids.

What are Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9?

Omega 3 and Omega 6 are important and essential fatty acids. They play a crucial role in all body tissues normal functioning. These fatty acids cannot be produced in the body, therefore must be supplied by our daily nutrition and diet.
Omega 3 and Omega 6 are especially important to pregnant women and kids, as they are needed for fetal growth, brain development, learning and behavior. Women who are breast feeding should also take larger amounts of these fatty acids, as breast milk “transfers” them to the infants.

Omega 9 is a nonessential fatty acid, as it is produced by the body naturally. The importance of this fatty acid is in its use in case of insufficiency of Omega 3, Omega 6 or both. But the Omega 9 cannot replace Omega 3 or Omega 6 “perfectly”, and that is why it is important to maintain a diet adequate with these fatty acids.

Benefits and Importance of omega 3, 6 and 9

Much has been spoken of the benefits and importance of Omega 3 to the human body and its daily functioning. These are but a few of the vital role this omega has in the body,

omega 3′s

• Improving brain function,

• helping maintain a good mood and preventing depression;

• prevention of excessive blood clotting; helping prevent cancer cell growth;

• decreasing the risk of heart disease;

• lowering the amount of fats (as cholesterol and triglycerides) circulating in the bloodstream;

• Decrease risk of Alzheimer’s

Omega 6 also has a significant role in which it keeps our skin, nails and hair healthy and looking good, and also aids to maintain healthy immune system function.
Omega 9 is great  in lowering heart attack risk, protecting arterial cholesterol build-up and assisting in cancer prevention.
As for weight loss, it has been shown that adding oils containing Omega 3 helps reduce craving for fatty foods. It also reduces amount of insulin, thus reducing hunger. Another important role of Omega 3, 6 and 9 is in assisting proper metabolism of other fats. Deficiency in Omega 3, 6 and 9 can result in the body’s need for other kinds of fat, which will result in gaining weight.
Good sources 
Generally, it is easier getting adequate amounts of Omega 6, because it is found in more foods than Omega 3. But both fatty acids complete each other for the use of the body, and that is why it is highly important to take them in a proper ratio. In order to maintain the balance, it is important to keep low amounts of processed foods and to obtain fat mostly from Omega 3 fatty acids.
Good sources for Omega 6 are: leafy vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and vegetable oils.

Good sources for Omega 9 are: olive oil, avocado, and various nuts and seeds

Good sources for Omega 3 are: wild fish (salmon, cod, and halibut), ground flax and Black Cumin seeds, walnuts, green leafy vegetables, oils, citrus fruits, melons and cherries.

When supplementing Omegas into your diet is very important to look at the quality of the supplements, as some fish oils contain toxins such as mercury, especially if the fish are farmed, and many fish naturally contain toxins from pollution. Recent science and thoughts have been that seed based omegas are the best source, as they do not contain toxins and also deliver omegas with natural antioxidants that increase the absorption on the cellular level.

So don’t forget to get your daily serving of super fats omega 3, 6 and 9 as it will help you to stay healthy, build muscle mass and also lose weight, all in one!