Omega-3s, omega-6s – you thought you’d heard them all. Now there are omega-7s. Like other omega fatty acids, omega-7s are unsaturated, meaning not all of their carbons are bonded to hydrogen. In contrast, saturated fatty acids have all of the carbons “saturated” with hydrogen.
Why haven’t you heard about omega-7s before? Only recently have researchers have turned their attention to them and begun to explore the benefits they could offer.
What Are Omega-7s
The best-known omega-7 is the fatty acid palmitoleic acid. Your body can make palmitoleic acid. Therefore, palmitoleic acid isn’t an essential fatty acid you have to get through diet but production slows down as we get older. Because our ability to make it decreases with age, it may be beneficial from a health standpoint to get it from exogenous sources.
Why the interest in palmitoleic acid and omega 7s? Research shows it’s linked with improved insulin sensitivity and may help to keep inflammation in check. A study published in the journal Diabetes Care showed diabetics with the higher levels of palmitoleic acid in their bloodstream had better insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity refers to how well the cells in your body respond to insulin. When you have good insulin sensitivity your pancreas doesn’t have to pump out as much insulin to get glucose into cells. That’s a good thing since lower insulin levels are linked with better health and weight control. Higher insulin levels may also speed up the aging process. In animals, lower insulin levels are linked with greater longevity.
Other Possible Benefits of Omega-7s
There are more reasons to keep an eye on omega-7s and their potential benefits. Preliminary research shows a link between omega-7 from dietary sources and reduced body fat. In addition, getting more of these fatty acids through diet may have favorable effects on blood lipids. Omega-7s could decrease the risk of heart disease in a number of ways – by its improving lipid levels, increasing insulin sensitivity and by reducing inflammation inside blood vessels. A study also showed they lower C-reactive protein, a marker for blood vessel inflammation. Higher C-reactive protein levels are linked with heart disease.
In summary, palmioleic acid, an omega-7 may offer protection against metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Who can argue with those benefits? With research only in its early stages, there’s lots more to learn about omega-7s and potential benefits they offer and there are ongoing studies looking at this issue.
Sources of Omega-7s
Here’s the bad news. There aren’t many good dietary sources of omega-7s. Two sources are palm kernel oil and dairy products. To get palmitoleic acid from dairy foods you have to consume full-fat dairy products, not skim milk or low-fat. Macadamia nuts are another good source of palmitoleic acid. The problem with getting omega-7s from these dietary sources is they also contain palmitic acid. Palmitic acid is an “antagonist” that may offset the health benefits of palmitoleic acid. While palmitoleic has anti-inflammatory effects, palmitic acid is pro-inflammatory. This pro-inflammatory effect “cancels out” some of the benefits of palmitoleic acid when you get your omega-7s from dietary sources.
So how CAN you get the health benefits of palmitoleic acid? Although it’s best to get nutrients through diet, it’s hard get omega 7s in a form that’s free of palmitic acid, the antagonist. To do so, you would have to take an omega-7 supplement where the palmitic acid has been removed. Some supplement companies are offering purified omega-7 supplements. Others are combining omega-7s and omega-3s into a single supplement for heart health. Another source of omega-7s is sea buckthorn, a fruit that grows in the Himalayan Mountains. Sea buckthorn is rich in antioxidants and natural phytochemicals.
The Bottom Line?
Research looking at omega-7s is still in its infancy, so it’s best to wait for more data before jumping on the omega-7 supplement bandwagon. If these studies show benefits, omega-7s could be the next “healthy” fat. Until then, you can enjoy the heart health benefits that omega-3s offer by eating wild-caught salmon twice a week. Be on the look-out for more information about omega 7s as it comes available.
References:
Diab. Care 2010: 33: 405-407.
Brown University. “Insulin plays central role in aging, Brown scientists discover”
Holistic Primary Care. Winter 2013. Page 4.
Ann Intern Med. 2010 Dec 21;153(12):790-9.
