Omega 9: What It Is, Benefits, Food Sources & More

Fatty acids get a lot of press these days because we have finally realized that not all fat is bad. After an entire generation spent their days avoiding fat, we now know that some fats are not only good for us but essential. 

Essential fats are those the body needs to thrive but cannot readily create on its own. We have to get essential fats from our diet or through supplements. 

Understanding which fats are good for us, which are essential, and which aren’t healthy can be challenging. Consider the omega group of fatty acids. There are numerous types of omega fatty acids, but not all are essential. 

Let’s look at omega-9 and discover what it is, if it is essential, what it helps the body with, and where it is found in our food. We’ll also talk about a newly discovered fatty acid called C15:0, which is not only essential but vital in preventing a nutrient deficiency known as Cellular Fragility Syndrome. 

Understanding Omegas

Omega fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, like olive oil or canola oil. There are numerous types of omega fatty acids, and it may come as a surprise, but not all of them are essential. 

Here’s a quick rundown.

Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Omega-3s are the clear all-stars of the omega fatty acids family, but only ALA is considered essential. This is interesting because the majority of studies that show cardiovascular health benefits of omega-3 focus on EPA (specifically without DHA).

Additionally, too much omega-3 has detrimental health effects, like thinning of the blood, bruising easily, low blood pressure, and excessive bleeding if an injury were to occur. Omega-3 is found in fatty fish, nuts, and seeds. If your doctor recommends you take omega-3, it’s a good idea to try to source omega-3 from your diet first. 

A recent study found that more than one in 10 bottles of omega-3 supplements sold on store shelves were rancid, meaning there’s a high probability you could be dosing yourself with spoiled supplements that may actually be detrimental to your health.

Omega-6

The most popular omega-6 fatty acid is linoleic acid (LA). The body can convert LA into other omega-6 fatty acids, which are not essential. The conversion of LA into other omega-6 fatty acids produces pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, which are a vital part of the immune system. 

However, too much omega-6 can cause an unhealthy level of inflammation in the body. To offset the inflammatory eicosanoids, your body needs a good balance between omega-3 and omega-6.

Most people get all the omega-6 they need from dietary sources like green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and cooking oils. For this reason, it usually isn’t advisable to take an omega-6 supplement. 

Omega-9

Omega-3 fatty acids don’t get a lot of attention, probably because they are not essential fatty acids. That means your body can make the omega-9 fatty acids it needs on its own. Unlike omega-3 and omega-6, omega-9 fatty acids are monounsaturated, which means there is only one double bond between carbon atoms. 

The most common omega-9 fatty acid is oleic acid, and it is the most common omega-9 found in our diets. Let’s dive a little deeper into omega-9 to find out if it is beneficial and where it is found in the food supply.

Omega-9 Benefits and Food Sources

Omega-9 is not essential, but that doesn’t mean the body doesn’t need it. The body makes omega-9 by combining pyruvate and acetyl-CoA, two chemical compounds that are produced during cellular respiration, specifically between glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. 

The takeaway is that your body is making omega-9 on its own, so it usually isn’t necessary to take omega-9 as a supplement or focus too much on getting omega-9 from your food.

Benefits

Omega-9 is generally used for the creation of energy in the body. Omega-9 is also used when the body doesn’t have ready stores of omega-3 and omega-6, kind of like a fatty acid backup plan. 

Some studies have explored whether or not adding more omega-9 (either through supplements or dietary sources) could provide additional health benefits. Limited research on rats showed that adding more monounsaturated fats to their diets improved insulin sensitivity and decreased inflammation. 

However, more research would be needed to determine if those benefits were available to humans and, if so, whether they came along with any detrimental health concerns. 

Sources of Omega-9

Omega-9 is produced in the body naturally, but it is also found in foods like:

• Olives and olive oil
• Avocados and avocado oil
• Almonds
• Hazelnuts
• Macadamia nuts
• Pecans
• Cashews

If you don’t regularly eat these foods, there’s no need to worry that you aren’t getting enough omega-9 because your body is most likely already making all the omega-9 you need. 

Should You Take an Omega Supplement?

It can be pretty convincing to take an omega supplement, especially omega-3 or omega-6, since we know our bodies cannot make some of those fatty acids but do require them. However, most people get the recommended daily allowance of omega-3 and omega-6 from their diets and won’t need to take a supplement. 

There is one essential fatty acid that you may want to take a supplement for. A new essential fatty acid has been recently identified as the first to be discovered in over 90 years. This fatty acid is so essential for our long-term health that not having enough can lead to a nutritional deficiency syndrome known as Cellular Fragility Syndrome. 

What’s the Scoop With the New Fatty Acid?

Pentadecanoic acid, or C15:0 for short, is an odd-chain, saturated fatty acid that our bodies must have enough of to maintain our health. We know what you’re thinking: “Saturated fat is good for me?” Yes. Not all saturated fats are bad, and there’s currently a movement happening to change dietary guidance that has us avoiding all saturated fats. 

C15:0 was discovered by a team of researchers studying longevity in bottlenose dolphins. These mammals are a lot like us, and suffer from some of the same types of age-related illnesses that humans do. 

Arthritis, Alzheimer’s, blood sugar problems, and other aging-related diseases affect dolphins and humans alike. The researchers who discovered C15:0 noticed that dolphins who had higher circulating levels of C15:0 in their diets also had lower levels of age-related illness compared with dolphins with lower C15:0 levels. 

Taking their research further, they studied the effects of C15:0 on human cells. Turns out, the same age-protective benefits the dolphins were getting from C15:0 were also available to humans. 

What Are the Benefits?

The benefits of C15:0 start within the very foundations of our bodies (our cells) and extend through virtually every tissue, organ, and system we have. C15:0 integrates into our cells, strengthening them, repairing them, and regulating them by:

• Keeping cell membranes stronger by up to 80%
  
  
• Fixing broken mitochondria so cells have more energy and less reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  
  
• Clearing away damaged, pro-inflammatory cells
  
  
• Activating AMPK to help regulate functions like glucose uptake, total body homeostasis, and immunity
  
  
• Binding with PPAR receptors throughout the body to help return balance to functions like mood, sleep, and appetite

The benefits don’t end there. Peer-reviewed studies show that C15:0 is able to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol, improve liver enzymes, and even improve and support the gut microbiome. Since the initial discovery in 2020, there are now over 100 peer-reviewed studies that support C15:0’s essentiality and health benefits. What’s more, without enough C15:0 in your bloodstream, you’ll be at risk of developing a deficiency.

What About Cellular Fragility Syndrome?

It’s rare to discover a new dietary deficiency syndrome. In fact, the discovery of Cellular Fragility Syndrome is the first nutritional deficiency syndrome found in over 75 years. Think vitamin C and scurvy or vitamin D and rickets. Once the doctors and scientists who discovered C15:0 as being essential, they then asked the question, what happens if we have too little C15:0 in our body?

As published in the scientific journal Metabolites, low levels of C15:0 result in fragile, unhealthy cells that are susceptible to early cell breakdown and cell death. This condition, known as Cellular Fragility Syndrome, is thought to negatively affect the health of nearly one in three people globally.

Cellular Fragility Syndrome has been directly linked to ferroptosis, a type of cell death that accelerates aging and causes type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cognitive decline, and fatty liver disease. 

The good news is that not only are C15:0 deficiencies fixable, but optimizing your C15:0 levels can improve your longevity. So much so that C15:0 has become known as The Longevity Nutrient. 

How Does Omega-3 Compare to C15:0?

In studies comparing pure C15:0 (fatty15) against the purest and most effective form of omega-3, it was found that fatty15 had 26 more cellular benefits and was safer for our cells.

You can read the entire study here and learn how higher doses of omega-3 were found to lead to cell death (including red blood cells) and how C15:0 was able to strengthen and protect those same cells. 

Where Can I Get C15:0 in My Diet?

Due to changes in our food supply, it may be difficult to get enough C15:0 through our diet alone, which is the reason that a pure C15:0 supplement was created. 

Unfortunately, C15:0 is only found in trace amounts in whole-fat dairy foods like whole milk and full-fat butter. Consuming more whole-fat dairy may not be the best way to optimize your C15:0 levels for a few reasons:

• You’d get more “bad” fat. Not all fat is good fat. Whole-fat dairy contains the essential C15:0 you need, but even more uneven, saturated fats, which are consistently associated with negative health outcomes. Not to mention, you’ll also be packing in additional sugar from lactose.
  
  
• Whole-fat dairy isn’t exactly diet-friendly. Adding extra whole-fat dairy to your diet packs a wallop of calories that isn’t necessarily the best way to support a healthy weight. At about 150 calories per cup, whole milk is usually an easy swap for low-calorie skim milk or plant-based milk. It’s worth noting that plant-based milk is completely void of C15:0.
  
  
• It involves cows. If you’re vegan or simply looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint, consuming more dairy is off the table. 

A solution? Fatty15. 

Fatty15 is the first and only supplement that contains the pure, vegan-friendly, sustainably produced, bioavailable, and award-winning version of C15:0 known as FA15™. This once-per-day supplement gives you the C15:0 you need and nothing you don’t, and only avoids the cows and the calories. 

Get Mega Benefits Without Omega-9

Although omega-9 is not an essential nutrient, it is still important to provide your body with the building blocks (the essential fatty acids) it needs to function optimally. One such essential fatty acid is C15:0, which can be obtained by taking fatty15. 

This award-winning supplement has been clinically proven to increase C15:0 levels and support your long-term metabolic, liver, immune, red blood cell, and cognitive health. Taking fatty15 is a great way to strengthen your cells, slow cellular aging, and support your long-term health. 

Sources:

Revealed: many common omega-3 fish oil supplements are ‘rancid’ | The Guardian.com

The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids | PubMed

Monounsaturated Fatty Acid–Enriched High-Fat Diets Impede Adipose NLRP3 Inflammasome–Mediated IL-1β Secretion and Insulin Resistance Despite Obesity | Diabetes

Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? | Scientific Reports

A review of odd-chain fatty acid metabolism and the role of pentadecanoic Acid (c15:0) and heptadecanoic Acid (c17:0) in health and disease | PubMed

Effect of an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet and pentadecanoic acid on fatty liver disease: the TANGO randomized controlled trial | ScienceDirect

Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Essential Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Relevant Cell-Based Activities with Leading Longevity-Enhancing Compounds

The Cellular Stability Hypothesis: Evidence of Ferroptosis and Accelerated Aging-Associated Diseases as Newly Identified Nutritional Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0) Deficiency Syndrome

Ferroptosis: An Iron-Dependent Form of Nonapoptotic Cell Death | Cell.com