EFAs: How Much Do You Need?
How Can You Make Sure You Get It?
The correct amounts of EFAs are well known. So are the most
concentrated sources of them.
The two Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic
acid. Humans need about ten grams of linolenic acid (LA) per day and about two
grams of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) per day.
When trying to losing weight, it is important to get at least these amounts of
each EFA from foods that do not also have lots of other Calories in them.
There are three foods that are especially suitable for this:
English walnuts -- one ounce of shelled English walnuts (about 15 halves) provides
about 2.5 grams of ALA and about 11 grams of LA and only about 190 Calories total.
This makes English walnuts the single most convenient source of both of the EFAs.
High-linoleic safflower oil -- one tablespoon (14 grams) has 10 grams of LA and
about 120 Calories total.
Flaxseed oil -- one teaspoon (4.5 grams) has about 2 grams of ALA and about 40
Calories total.
An important note on safflower oil: Unfortunately many manufacturers of safflower
oil have switched their production from high-linoleic varieties of safflower to
high-oleic varieties. The high-oleic safflower oil does not provide much LA. It is
therefore not suitable as a primary source of EFA.
How can you know which brand is high-linoleic? Although few manufacturers
explain on the label exactly which fatty acids are in their oils, there is a way to
tell by looking at the nutrition information on the label.
The Nutrition Facts Label on vegetable oils (in the U.S.) break the
total types of fat in the oil into "saturated fat",
"mono-unsaturated" fat, "poly-unsaturated" fat, and give
the total amounts of each per tablespoon (about 14 grams).
High-linoleic safflower oil (the kind you want) will show about 10
grams of fat as poly-unsaturated fat. High-oleic safflower oil (which you
want to avoid) will show about 10 grams of mono-unsaturated fat.
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