Originally published August 21 2014
Omega-3s boost brain health by improving neuron cell membrane functionality
by PF Louis
(NaturalNews) Most Americans have an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid imbalance due to the prevalence of unsaturated omega-6 fatty acids from polyunsaturated processed oils in processed foods.
It should minimally be three to one omega-6 to omega-3, while one to one is considered ideal by experts. But it's estimated that many SAD (standard American diet) consumers are at around 20 to 1 omega-6 to omega-3 or worse.
This imbalance creates chronic inflammation that invites obesity and even more serious autoimmune diseases. Omega-3 fatty acids from eggs, whole organic raw milk, and meat and fish from healthy sources provide instantly usable omega-3 fatty acids that are important for heart health and optimal brain function, despite medical dogma and "common knowledge" to the contrary.
Plant-based polyunsaturated seeds or oils, such as flax oils or ground seeds, hemp oils or seeds and chia seeds, do provide additional health benefits and elements of usable omega-3.
But the process of converting plant based ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) into usable omega-3 as EPA and DHA is less efficient among diabetics and wanes as we grow older.
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are already formed for us by fish and animal sources, and they are very supportive of heart and brain health and reduce rheumatoid arthritis issues. [1]
But it would be wise to balance those out with plant sources as well, since they offer other nutritional advantages that we all need. Omega-3s have provided amazing results for brain protection and restoration in animal studies and in real-life human brain damage recoveries.
Animal (in vivo) and lab (in vitro) studies
A study comparing mice with omega-3-rich diets to those without was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Department of Neurology and published in the journal Stroke.
The researchers determined that omega-3s in brain-damaged mice brought about brain-damage repair and neuroprotection by suppressing an inflammatory process. [2]
The exact mechanics of this neuroprotection and reconstruction were explored more recently in 2014. Three Paris universities collaborated on in vitro (lab cultures) studies using high magnification.
That study proved that the presence of omega-3 lipids makes the brain cell membranes more malleable and therefore more sensitive to deformation and fission by proteins.
This might seem like a bad thing, but malleability, deformation and fission are elements of endocytosis, a vital function enabling brain cells' membranes to transport hormones and nutrients and provide efficient neurotransmitter pathways for optimum brain function.
The study results were published in the journal Science on August 8, 2014. [3] [4]
And now for something more dramatic
In Virginia a couple of years ago, a high school teenager whose brain was so damaged in a car accident that his parents were informed that he would be vegetative for the rest of his life if he ever came out of his coma while on life support.
The teen's dad refused to give up. An old Army buddy, now MD, told him about a recent similar case in neighboring West Virginia where a 26-year-old man brain-damaged and in a coma was flirting with death after a coal-mining accident. He was treated with high-dose fish oil through his feeding tube, 20 grams a day. One gram a day is considered normal supplementation, with three grams a day the limit. [1]
The West Virginia hospital's neurosurgeon knew omega-3s were an important part of brain cell structures. He courageously broke the boundaries of the American Medical Association's "standard of care" and helped the young coal miner walk out of the hospital just three months after the mining accident.
The Virginia hospital didn't have that courageous neurosurgeon, so the teenage boy's father's efforts to convince the hospital to duplicate that West Virginia neurosurgeon's protocol on his own son was an uphill drama.
But he ultimately succeeded with getting the hospital to duplicate that mega-dose fish oil feeding protocol to restore his son's ability to walk and even formally address his high school classmates on graduation day. [5]
Sources for this article include:
[1] http://umm.edu
[2]http://science.naturalnews.com
[3] http://www2.cnrs.fr [PDF]
[4] http://www.sciencedaily.com
[5] http://www.naturalnews.com
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