Your Health: Fat head and the fishy truth

Your Health: Fat head and the fishy truth 2 August, 2008: DON'T be upset if someone calls you a "fat head". It is a lot closer to the truth than you think. Your brain is more than 60 per cent fat. The most common fats are like those found in fish. These fats are a unique class of compounds called omega 3 fatty acids. There are three major types of omega 3 fatty acids: - alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)- eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)- docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). But guess what? Your body cannot make them. You must get them from your diet. That is why nutritionists call them essential fatty acids. Once eaten, the body converts ALA to EPA and DHA, the two types of omega-3 fatty acids more readily used by the body. UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Professor of Neurosurgery and Physiological Science, fish loving Fernando Gomez-Pinilla noted that some food have a drug-like effect. "Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain," Dr Gomez-Pinilla wrote in the July issue of the journal, Nature Reviews Neuroscience. "Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function. This raises the possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage and counteracting the effects of ageing," he wrote. That is not based on just one study. In an analysis of over 160 studies, omega-3 fatty acids emerged as significant dietary compounds to enhance learning, memory and prevent mental disorders. "Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function," Dr Gomez-Pinilla observed. Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are complex molecules that enhance electrical conductivity. They are needed for the formation of brain cell membranes, which develop connections called synapses (junctions between nerves). These are vital in learning. "Omega-3 fatty acids support synaptic plasticity and seem to positively affect the expression of several molecules related to learning and memory that are found on synapses." Dr Gomez-Pinilla noted that increasing the omega-3 fatty acid levels of children's diets improved school performance and reduced behavioural problems. Omega-3 acids combined with iron, zinc, folic acid and other vitamins have shown to improve verbal intelligence, learning and memory test scores after six months when given to children between the ages of 6 and 12.Research has shown that the nutritional content of one's diet can have effects on the health, including neurological function, of future generations. Strong evidence indicates that what you eat can affect your grandchildren's brain molecules and synapses. He observed that reducing the amount of food we eat can be beneficial. Consuming too many calories can decrease the flexibility of the brain cells' synapses and increase free radical damage.Although the brain is very susceptible to this damage, foods such as blueberries can help counteract it.Another important brain nutrient is the B vitamin folic acid. Insufficient folic acid has been linked with depression and cognitive impairment, and supplementation with vitamin has been demonstrated to be helpful in the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia. Folic acid has also been shown to enhance the effects of antidepressants. In depressed as well as schizophrenic individuals, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a signalling molecule, is reduced. Omega-3 fatty acids as well as curcumin, a compound present in the spice turmeric, can help elevate BDNF in a manner similar to antidepressant or antischizophrenic drugs. "BDNF is reduced in the hippocampus, in various cortical areas and in the serum of patients with schizophrenia," Dr Gomez-Pinilla stated. "BDNF levels are reduced in the plasma of patients with major depression. "Understanding the molecular basis of the effects of food on cognition will help us to determine how best to manipulate diet in order to increase the resistance of neurons to promote mental fitness." You should eat more fish. Try it steamed or boiled. Although fried fish tastes good, it has a poor omega 3 value as most of these highly sensitive fatty acids is destroyed by frying. Still, the concern is toxins given that fish have to ingest all the pollutants that we throw which ends up in the oceans. You may want to take fish supplements especially those that have undergone high end purification processes like molecular distillation or a more advanced form where impurities are totally removed.