Word: acids
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...example, one technique physicians learned at the workshop was to administer folic acid to a mother there months before and after pregnancy to reduce the risk of spinal disorders, Armstrong said...
...Fatty acids, the building blocks for fat, are divided into three chemical classes according to their hydrogen content: saturated, mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated. Only the polyunsaturated ones are considered "essential," meaning they cannot be manufactured by the body. Like minerals and vitamins, they must be ingested as food. "If we don't eat enough," says Siguel, "then we won't have enough." And that would be unfortunate, for these compounds -- principally linoleic acid and linolenic acid -- are vital to the maintenance of cell membranes and to the manufacture of potent chemical messengers that regulate everything from blood pressure...
...Essential-fatty-acid deficiency," Siguel sweepingly declares, "is perhaps the most important health problem in America." When essential fatty acids are in short supply, he explains, the body compensates by substituting other types of fatty acids that have a less supple biochemical structure. As polyunsaturates are replaced by these other compounds, cell membranes become more rigid, leading to progressive hardening of the arterial walls...
Fortunately, antidotes to this problem abound. Varying amounts of linoleic and linolenic acid are found in different kinds of cooking and salad oils -- among them corn, soybean, safflower and walnut oils. They are also present in seeds, nuts and green vegetables like broccoli. But don't look for polyunsaturated oils in processed grains, advises Siguel. Food manufacturers generally remove these spoilage-prone compounds from pasta, bread and breakfast cereal in order to lengthen the shelf life of their products. Thus, Siguel ventures, a slice of pizza made with soybean oil may be healthier than portions of some low-fat foods...
What's wrong with this picture? Quite a lot, argues Dr. Scott Grundy of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, an expert on the role of fat in heart disease. For starters, he says, there is no reason to believe that essential-fatty-acid deficiency is widespread. On average, Americans consume more of these fatty acids than their bodies require -- and that could be a problem. In laboratory animals, too much polyunsaturated fat has been linked to suppression of the immune system and the growth of malignant tumors. There is even reason to suspect that fatty acids derived from...