FADS1

Fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) is an enzyme which desaturates fatty acids by introducing double bonds into their structure, and is encoded for by the FADS1 gene.

Dietary fats typically fall into one of two categories, saturated and unsaturated ¹. In saturated fats all the bonds between carbon atoms in the fatty acid chain are single, whereas in unsaturated fats some carbon atoms can be linked by double bonds. The science of this is discussed in more detail in the following post as the health impacts of saturated and unsaturated fats is an area of great debate.

Briefly, historical studies proposed that very high levels of saturated fat led to an increase in cholesterol levels, which congealed inside the blood vessels resulting in poor heart health, and so people were encouraged to transition away from saturated fats towards unsaturated fats ². However, more recent studies have shown that the double bonds in unsaturated fats are susceptible to lipid peroxidation, which can generate harmful free-radicals, which can damage the lining of blood vessels ³.

The exact dietary implications of this conflicting research is unclear, although it is worth noting that the USDA Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in 2015 reversed their recommendation that people limit dietary cholesterol intake ⁴.

As one of the enzymes responsible for converting saturated fats in unsaturated equivalents, FADS1 is clearly of great interest. There is a single SNP associated with poor health outcomes, rs174547 or T61803311C.