Originally Posted by Marc David [url="http://www.beginningbodybuilding.com/"

www.beginningbodybuilding.com[/url] , http://www.freedomfly.net/fitnessnewsletter.htm]
What Are Essential Fatty Acids (EFA)?

EFAs = Essential Fatty Acids are substances from fats that
must be provided by foods because the body cannot make
them, and yet must have them for health. EFAs exist in two
families: omega-3 and omega-6.

According to the above definition of essential, there are
only two essential fats (technically called essential fatty
acids or EFAs). One is the omega 3 EFA, called alpha-
linolenic acid. The other, the omega 6 EFA, is known as
linoleic acid.

Certain fats are defined as 'essential' because:

1. The body cannot make them;
2. They are required for normal cell, tissue, gland, and
organ function, for health, and for life;
3. They must be provided from outside the body, through
food or supplements;
4. They can come only from fats (hence fat-free diets
cannot supply them);
5. Their absence from the diet will eventually kill;
6. Deficiency results in progressive deterioration, can
lead to death;
7. Return of essential fatty acids to a deficient diet
reverses the symptoms of deficiency and results in a return
to health.

Most people do not get enough EFA’s in their diets,
especially those who restrict themselves to a very low fat
(any fat) type of diet. It’s rare that anybody is truly
clinically deficient but such diets as a very low fat diet
are clearly not going to provide optimal EFA’s.

Various types of oil blends, fish, seeds and green
vegetables contain essential fatty acids. These “good
fats” have a ton of great benefits to them. Getting enough
of the good fats daily in your diet will actually do
wonders to help you burn fat. Many sources recommend
combinations of EFAs because of the Omega-3 and Omega-6.

For example, if you were to only get your essential fats
from something like Flaxseed oil, there’s some research to
suggest it’s not as beneficial as you might think because
exclusive use of flax oil can lead to Omega-6 deficiency
within 2-8 months! Furthermore, using CLA in conjunction
with this might lead to deficiency of Omega-6 even sooner
then just using flax oil alone.

All this really means is using oil blends and getting EFAs
from various sources will help you achieve optimum levels
of BOTH Omega-3 and Omega-6 complexes. I would recommend
you don’t use flax oils exclusively but combine them with
other EFA sources to balance any deficiencies.