• Fatty acids are made up of "chains" of the elements CARBON, OXYGEN AND HYDROGEN.

• These changes happen as a result of fatty acids interacting with enzymes.
• Enzymes have the ability then, to change fatty acids. 

Omega-3 metabolism is the result of enzymes converting fatty acids to their various forms - their derivatives.

The enzymes will either:

1. Lengthen the fatty acid carbon chain (elongate it - make it longer), by adding carbon atoms, or  
2. Insert more double bonds into the carbon chain  while at the same time, removing hydrogen atoms (desaturate it).