Title:Essential Fatty Acids along the Women’s Life Cycle and Promotion of a
Well-balanced Metabolism
Volume: 20
Issue: 6
Author(s): Georgina N. Marchiori, Aldo R. Eynard and Elio A. Soria*
Affiliation:
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Cátedra de Biología Celular, Histología y Embriología,
Instituto de Biología Celular. Bv. de la Reforma, Ciudad Universitaria, 5014, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CONICET, INICSA.
Bv. de la Reforma, Ciudad Universitaria, 5014, Córdoba, Argentina
Keywords:
Aging, lipids, nutrition, psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology, polyunsaturated fatty acids, women’s health.
Abstract: Linoleic acid (ω-6 LA) and α-linolenic acid (ω-3 ALA) are essential fatty acids (EFA)
for human beings. They must be consumed through diet and then extensively metabolized, a process
that plays a fundamental role in health and eventually in disease prevention. Given the numerous
changes depending on age and sex, EFA metabolic adaptations require further investigations
along the women’s life cycle, from onset to decline of the reproductive age. Thus, this review explains
women’s life cycle stages and their involvement in diet intake, digestion and absorption,
the role of microbiota, metabolism, bioavailability, and EFA fate and major metabolites. This
knowledge is crucial to promoting lipid homeostasis according to female physiology through well-
directed health strategies. Concerning this, the promotion of breastfeeding, nutrition, and physical
activity is cardinal to counteract ALA deficiency, LA/ALA imbalance, and the release of unhealthy
derivatives. These perturbations arise after menopause that compromise both lipogenic
and lipolytic pathways. The close interplay of diet, age, female organism, and microbiota also
plays a central role in regulating lipid metabolism. Consequently, future studies are encouraged to
propose efficient interventions for each stage of women's cycle. In this sense, plant-derived foods
and products are promising to be included in women’s nutrition to improve EFA metabolism.
