The Basics Before we get into fatty acids, let's go over a few basics. We eat mostly to satisfy the rumblings of our stomach but, if you took a basic course in nutrition, you will learn our body actually has nutritional requirements that must be met for proper growth, maintenance and repair. There are about 90 different nutrients our body needs on a daily basis such as vitamins, mineral, proteins, carbohydrates, fats etc. Some of these nutrients our bodies can actually make s