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Brain health dramatically improved by intake of omega-3 fatty acids and fish oils

Brain health dramatically improved by intake of omega-3 fatty acids and fish oils

It's no secret that long-term diet and nutrition choices have an effect on the way we look and feel; but new studies show that nutrition can also affect the way we think. As it turns out, there really is such a thing as “food for thought.”

It may seem strange that what we put in our stomachs can have such a powerful effect on what goes on in our minds, but research is increasingly showing that emotional, mental and psychiatric disorders like depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may more likely be the result of dietary deficiencies than genetic predispositions. The same is true of people who struggle with memory loss, have trouble learning new tasks, have Alzheimer’s disease or simply suffer from a lot of blue moods. The dietary deficiency that tends to frequently show up in these patients is a lack of omega-3 oils -- abundant fatty acids found in cold-water fish like salmon, herring and cod.

Omega-3s and brain health
The omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an important ingredient for optimal brain function. Earl Mindell, RPh PhD, writes in Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible, “There's a reason why fish is known as brain food. It is a rich source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid that is found in high concentration in the gray matter of the brain. DHA is instrumental in the function of brain cell membranes, which are important for the transmission of brain signals.” By making cell membranes more fluid, omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, improve communication between the brain cells, according to Mind Boosters author Dr. Ray Sahelia. As a result, lack of omega-3 in the body can cause a communication breakdown in the brain, which is probably the last place you'd want such a breakdown to happen.

Omega-3 fatty acids are so important to the development and proper maintenance of the brain that “some scientists even postulate that it was the ingestion of omega-3 EFAs that allowed the brain to evolve to the next stage in human development,” according to Superfoods Rx authors Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Matthews. While omega-3s were abundant in our diets before the 20th century, they are now seriously lacking. The Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing write in The Folk Remedy Encyclopedia, “Just like a machine, your brain needs oil -- in the form of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids -- to run smoothly. Unfortunately, the average diet doesn't usually contain the right balance of these fatty acids. If you eat a typical modern diet, you probably get plenty of omega-6 through corn, soybean, and other oils in processed food. But omega-3 oils, which are just as important, are often missing.”

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