Omega-3 fatty acid
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids with a double bond at the third carbon atom from the end of the carbon chain. The fatty acids have two ends, the carboxylic acid end, which is considered the beginning of the chain, thus "alpha", and the methyl end, which is considered the "tail" of the chain, thus "omega." The nomenclature of the fatty acid is taken from the location of the first double bond, counted from the methyl end, that is, the omega or the n- end. The three types of omega-3 fatty acids involved in human physiology are ALA, EPA, and DHA. Common sources of animal omega-3 EPA and DHA fatty acids include fish oils, egg oil, squid oils, krill oil, while some plant oils contain the omega 3 ALA fatty acid such as walnut, seabuckthorn and chia seeds, along with berry oils, clary sage seed oil, algal oil, flaxseed oil, Sacha Inchi oil,
Echium oil, and hemp oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for normal metabolism, but the health benefits of supplementation appear to be few if any. Omega-3s are considered essential fatty acids, meaning that they cannot be synthesized by the human body.