YOUR BRAIN NEEDS A HEALTHY DIET, TOO
FEBRUARY 2010

If the 65 percent of overweight Americans were to honestly assess their expanding waistlines, the vast majority would probably utter something about needing to go on a diet. Even the tubbiest eaters can make the connection between the foods they eat and the shape of their bellies.

There is another food-body connection that often gets overlooked. You may not have thought of it this way, but your brain is on a diet, too. Like the rest of your body, the brain requires healthy nutrients and will not function optimally on anything less. With an increasing level of brain related health issues, it may be time to reconsider what you are feeding the gray matter between your ears.

Emerging research is showing that diets high in omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are great for brain health. Wild-caught, deep-water fish, organic grass-fed meat, and eggs from poultry allowed to roam pastures are all superior sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Aptly described as “good fats,” omega-3s are essential to brain health.

GOOD FATS FOR YOUR BRAIN

For starters, approximately two thirds of your brain is comprised of fats. Additionally, the membranes of neurons, which are the specialized brain cells that communicate with each other, are made up of a double layer of fatty acid molecules. These are the fatty acids that dietary fats are made of, and are the very ones your brain uses from your diet. That’s why it’s so important to eat the right kind of fats since what you feed your stomach ultimately travels to your brain.

The protective sheath that covers the brain’s essential communicating neurons with a protective coating is called the myelin sheath. Since these sheaths are a whopping 70 percent fat, proper nutrition plays a huge role in maintaining their healthy sheen. But that could be a problem due to a bad fat that’s become a staple in our diet: trans fatty acids. Researchers have found that dietary trans fatty acids—present in processed foods like baked goods and fried foods from fast food restaurants—can find their way to the myelin of brain cells, where they can change the conductivity of the cells.

BUILDING A BETTER BRAIN

As mentioned earlier, the omega-3 DHA is particularly beneficial for brain health. DHA is instrumental in the function of brain cell membranes. When the body lacks these essential omega-3 fatty acids, communication can break down between the various physiological systems of the body and the brain cells.

DHA is the most abundant fat in the brain, and a loss in DHA concentrations in brain cell membranes is directly related to a loss in structural and functional integrity of the tissue. Additionally, the oxidative damage that accompanies stress or aging can result in the loss of DHA concentrations, leading to less than optimal cognitive functioning.

Your body does have the ability to create DHA on its own, however, by converting other omega-3 fatty acids into DHA. The process is limited to begin with, but is further affected by age, stress, alcohol, excess sugar, and vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

Unfortunately, the average North American diet is lacking in DHA. Estimates show that we consume approximately 80 milligrams a day of DHA, on average. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not set standard recommended daily values for EPA or DHA, current research shows that an acceptable overall intake of omega-3s should be about 1600 milligrams a day for men and 1100 milligrams for women. It’s fairly easy to figure out that we need to do a better job of feeding our brains.