Glossary
Glossary
The words you meet in a fatty-acid test, explained simply. One word, one page.
- AA (arachidonic acid)
- A long-chain omega-6 fatty acid that the body makes itself and that is also found in meat and eggs.
- ALA (alpha-linolenic acid)
- The plant omega-3 fatty acid, found in linseed, chia seeds, walnuts and rapeseed oil, among others.
- DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
- A long-chain omega-3 fatty acid from oily fish and marine oils, and an important building block of cell membranes.
- Dried blood spot (DBS)
- A few drops of blood from the fingertip, dried on a filter card and posted to the laboratory.
- EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)
- A long-chain omega-3 fatty acid that you mainly get from oily fish and marine oils.
- Fatty-acid profile
- The overview of which fatty acids are in the blood sample and in what proportions.
- Membrane fluidity
- How flexible and mobile the membrane around a cell is, which partly depends on the fatty acids it is built from.
- Omega-3 Index
- EPA and DHA measured as a percentage of all the fatty acids in red blood cell membranes.
- Omega-6:3 ratio
- The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the blood, a measure of overall fat balance.
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