What is Omega 9 Fatty Acid?
Omega 9 is the most abundant fatty acid in nature, and is not in short supply in our diets. Two important polyunsaturated fatty acids are linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. Linoleic acid is used to build omega 6 fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid is used to build omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 9 fatty acid is a monounsaturated fat that is also known as, oleic acid. Omega 9 is not technically an essential fatty acid because the body can produce a limited amount, provided the essential fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6, are present so it does not need to be supplemented. Omega 9 is mainly used when there is an insufficiency of either omega 3, omega 6 or both. When the body doesn’t have enough omega 3 or omega 6, it tries to compensate by producing omega 9 fatty acids to take their place. Some n−9s are common components of animal fat and vegetable oil. Two n−9 fatty acids important in industry are: Oleic acid (18:1, n−9), which is a main component of olive oil and other monounsaturated
