Omega-3

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Brain Health Treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress with omega-3 fatty acids is garnering a lot of attention in medical circles. About 60 percent of the brain is composed of fat, and the primary fat in the brain is omega-3 fat. When omega-3 fat is in short supply in the diet, other fat gets involved in brain building, and as a result, the health of brain cells is impaired. The membrane of each brain cell, for example, becomes rigid, and it takes longer for electrical impulses to travel from one cell to another. This means that messages are not being carried rapidly from brain cell to brain cell. Consequently, you don’t think clearly, and your memory may become foggy. Depression and anxiety can also set in. Increasing levels of omega-3 fat in the diet has been shown to alleviate these problems.

There is an important ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in the diet that also helps to limit inflammatory processes. In recent years, scientists have discovered that the development of many diseases is influenced by chronic inflammation in the body. Inflammation is an essential part of the body’s healing process, brought on when the immune system tries to battle disease-causing germs and repair injured tissue. When that battle is over, the army of inflammation-triggering substances is supposed to withdraw, but in many cases it does not. Chronic inflammation is the result, and it has been implicated in heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and even Alzheimer’s disease. Omega-3 fat appears to halt chronic inflammation. Omega-6 fat is pro-inflammatory, whereas omega-3 fat is anti-inflammatory. However, omega-6 fat is far more abundant in our food supply. So it takes planning and effort and good choices to create a healthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fat. Although the average American diet reflects a ratio of 20:1, a more ideal ratio is 2:1 to 4:1. The fat cells in your body create their own inflammatory processes—which is yet another reason to stay lean. In fact, overweight people show symptoms of chronic, lowgrade inflammation, perhaps indicating early atherosclerosis, according to research.

A study conducted by researchers at the Free University in Amsterdam and scientists at the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, found overweight people to be far more likely than lean ones to have excess concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in their blood—a marker of inflammation. In fact, it is possible that chronic systemic inflammation precedes overweight and obesity due to poor lifestyle choices. As mentioned above, fat tissue is not benign. It is considered to be its own endocrine organ, pumping out hormones that create inflammatory markers that help sustain and create more fat tissue and keep inflammation chugging along. These compounds also contribute to increased risk of all the chronic diseases noted above. So if you are overweight, losing weight is the first step toward protecting your health.