Fatty acid balance is a measure of “good” versus “bad” fats in your blood. You probably already know that some fats are essential for us. Our body, for instance, takes fats from blood to provide energy to cells. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) are an example. Then there are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are needed for building cell walls.
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However, our body doesn’t produce some of these fats. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye on them. To check your fatty acids balance, we measure your PUFA to MUFA ratio. PUFAs are often called “good” fats as they reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. MUFAs are a bit complex as they are good when part of the diet, but bad in your blood. That’s because high MUFA level is often a sign of being overweight and insulin resistance (a condition in which your cells have trouble to get glucose from your bloodstream to produce energy). This may develop into diabetes.
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A high score in your fatty acid balance means that you have a healthy PUFA to MUFA ratio and thus a healthy fatty acid balance.
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​More questions?
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