The omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are essential polyunsaturated fats, so they must be taken daily (since our body and our pets’ cannot produce them).
They are called polyunsaturated because they have more than one double bond between their carbon atoms, which differentiates them from monounsaturated, with only a double bond, and from saturated ones, with no double bond.
To summarize, and to give you an idea of the importance of these essential fatty acids, we will highlight some of their key functions in the body:
- Omega 6 (such as linoleic, arachidonic, gamma linolenic DGLA):
They are necessary for proper growth and reproduction. Also, for the skin.
- Omega 3 (such as alpha linolenic, EPA and DHA):
They are necessary in case of allergies, arthritis, enteritis and other inflammatory processes, they participate in the adequate cerebral development, they contribute to a healthy reproduction, heart, eyes and skin, etc.
The good press that omega 3 have received in recent years was due to their insufficient consumption (unlike omega 6, which were consumed in excess), so nutrition specialists and the media began to emphasize them so that people included them in their diet to a greater extent.
A good proportion of these essential nutrients would be in a ratio of 5:1 to 2:1 (5:1 means that they take 5 times more of omega 6 than of omega 3). This should be enough to balance their effects and meet the daily needs.
In Dingonatura we work respecting this proportion and provide a sufficient amount of essential omega, in a bioavailable way and at the right time so they are not altered due to the heat. We start with vegetable oils and animal fats from suppliers that do not use severe heat treatments in their production (to avoid the generation of precancerous substances and low quality refined oils). We include in our recipes as natural sources of omega 3: flax oil, krill and Norwegian salmon oil); and of omega 6: borage oil, chicken fat and duck fat.
It is important to remember that no nutrient in excess, however essential, is beneficial for the organism, hence the well-known saying: “The remedy is worse than the disease.” Taking omega 3 as an example, it is known that its excessive consumption can decrease the body’s immune capacity, making us more susceptible to infectious diseases; or it can generate undesirable substances in our body (a phenomenon that worsens if not enough vitamin E is ingested to “protect” those fatty acids from oxidation). This fact makes clear the importance of mindfully mixing all the ingredients of a recipe in order to find the perfect balance between their nutrients (neither too much or too little of them) and to feed the right amount to our pets.
In Dingonatura we insist on the importance of overfeeding and unnecessarily supplementing our animals, because not for giving them more, we get better results (often the opposite happens). If you are looking for advice, do not hesitate to contact us.