Omega 3 contains the essential fat omega-3, the most beneficial form containing two fatty acids, EPA and DHA, can only be found in fish oil. These two fatty acids are essential in the maintenance of the body and brain.*  The tremendous health benefits of fish oil would best be derived from eating fatty cold-water fish, but almost all fish are contaminated with unsafe levels of mercury and other contaminants[iv] and I advise against eating fish unless it has been lab-tested.

Both the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids belong to a group of polyunsaturated fats called 'essential' because they are necessary to life and to health yet we cannot make them in the body - they must be obtained from diet. They cannot be inter-converted and both must be present in the diet in a proper balance for good health.

Their differences lie in their chemical structure and their roles in the body.

As polyunsaturated fatty acids, both the omega-6 and the omega-3 families have more than one double bond in the carbon chain. All fatty acids in the omega-6 family contain their first double bond between the 6th and7th carbon atoms (counted from the methyl (CH3) terminal carbon atom and the omega-3 family of fatty acids have their first double bond between the 3rd and 4th carbon atom.

Both families of fatty acids are vital components of membranes and are used by the body in the production of eicosanoids, a vast range of highly bioactive substances (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, lipoxins) but the activity of these metabolites varies. For example, the eicosanoids derived from omega-6 are in general more active (or reactive) than those produced from omega-3 and omega-6 is aggregatory whereas oega-6 is pro-aggregatory.

EFAs are involved in normal physiology, including:
• Maintaining pressure in the eye, joints, and blood vessels and the immune system*
• Maintaining bodily secretions and their viscosity.*
• Maintaining blood vessels*
• Maintaining circulation*
• Maintaining healthy endocrine hormones*
• Maintaining healthy muscles*
• Promoting healthy cell membranes*
• Maintaining healthy flow of substances to and from cells*
• Promoting healthy flow of oxygen throughout cells*
• Maintaining proper kidney function and fluid balance*
• Maintain healthy nerve transmission and communication*