Table 1. Types, composition, and sources of common dietary fatty acids and recommendations for intake.
|
Type and Examples of Fatty Acids |
Number
of Carbon Atoms |
Sources
of |
Suggested
Intakes† |
|
| Saturated | ||||
| Medium- |
6-12
|
Medical nutrition formulas, dietary |
↔
|
|
| chain triacylglycerols | supplements; derived from tropical oils | |||
| (e.g. lauric acid:
C12) |
||||
| Palmitic | ||||
| Stearic |
16
|
Animal fat, palm oil |
↓
|
|
|
18
|
Animal fat, cocoa butter |
↕
|
||
| Unsaturated | ||||
| Monounsaturated |
||||
| Oleic (cis form) |
18
|
Olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil |
↑
|
|
| Elaidic Trans (form) |
18
|
Some margarines, hydrogenated fats/oils (many processed foods) |
↓
|
|
| Polyunsaturated |
||||
| Linoleic (omega-6)* |
18
|
Cakes, cookies, pastries, corn oil, soybean oil (~most vegetable oils) |
↕
|
|
| Conjugated linoleic acid |
18
|
|
↕
|
|
| Linolenic (omega-3)* |
18
|
Walnuts, flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil (some) |
↑
|
|
| Gamma-linolenic acid |
18
|
Evening primrose, borage, and black currant plants/oils or dietary supplements, produced in body with use of other EFA’s |
↕
|
|
|
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA; omega-3) |
20
|
Salmon, herring, sardines, dietary supplements |
↑
|
|
|
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA; omega-3) |
22
|
Salmon, herring, sardines, dietary supplements |
↑
|
|
 |
||||
| *Signifies
an essential fatty acid (EFA) † ↑ consume more of; ↓ consumer less of; ↕ debatable (1, 2, 3); ↔ no need to add to diet (4). |
||||