Olive Oil, Omega 9, and Your Heart

Over the past few months, I've posted several times on omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and why finding the right balance between the two is important for your heart health.

I haven't shared any information related to omega 9's, mainly to avoid confusion.  I read a recent article discussing olive oil's link to reduced brachial artery blood flow and decided it was time to discuss omega 9's.

Let's start with the molecular difference between omega 9, omega 6, and omega 3.  Here's a recap on what "omega" means from the post Get a Grip on Fatty Acids. 

The term "omega" indicates which carbon has the first double bond on the carbon chain when you start counting from the omega end (remember "alpha" equals beginning and "omega" equals end).  For omega 3, the first double bond is on the third carbon from the omega end of the carbon chain.  For omega 6, the first double bond is on the sixth carbon from the omega end, while omega 9 has the first double bond on the ninth carbon.  Okay, now that everything is clear as mud, let's move onJ

Types of fat

Omega 3's, 6's, and 9's are all heart healthy unsaturated fatty acids.  But as we dive into the nitty gritty, some are more heart healthy than others.

Omega 3's are at the top when it comes to heart health.  The more omega 3's (such as fish/fish oil rich in EPA/DHA and flaxseed rich in ALA) the better for heart health.  Here's a previous post you may want to review - Top 5 Omega 3 Sources to Lower Cholesterol.

Omega 6's are found in vegetable oils, such as corn oil, which is very plentiful in the American diet.  Omega 6 isn't inherently bad for heart health, what's bad is our excess intake of omega 6.  The ratio between omega 6 and omega 3 is far from the ideal of 1:1 to 4:1.

Omega 9's are found in olive oil.  Olive oil is 85% monounsaturated fat and contains minimal omega 3 or omega 6 fatty acids.  Omega 9 fatty acids are not essential fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6, because the body can produce omega 9 fatty acids from unsaturated fat.

To complicate matters a little further, just because you hear a particular oil is a good source of omega 3, does not mean it includes no omega 6 and vice versa.  To explain this better, here is a table of the omega 6 and omega 3 content in 1 teaspoon of different oils.

Oil                               Omega 6                    Omega 3

Fish oil                      80 mg                    850 mg