Why Is Omega-3 In Fish Good For The Brain?

The old adage that "fish is brain food" may have more truth to it than originally believed.

In an article in the New York Times, writer Anahad O'Connor states that while the origin of the "old wives tale" regarding eating fish and brain acuity is uncertain, scientists have recently begun to prove that there may be some validity to the theory.

O'Connor states that many believe the concept got it start from the idea that human evolved near waterways and coastal areas and benefited from consuming fish, which contain Omega-3 fatty acids and were essential for brain development.

Brain Development

While that was a theory for many years, O'Connor said that scientists have found a possible link between eating fish and brain development.

For example, the more fish a mother eats during her second trimester, the better children do on tests at the age of six months.

In an article published in the New York Times, elderly people who consumed fish at least one day a week did better on memory and mental acuity tests than those who did not. In addition, their mental skills declined 10 percent slower than those peers who did not eat fish regularly.

Effectiveness

The key, scientists say, is the Omega-3 fatty acids. University of California at Los Angeles neurology professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla analyzed more than 160 studies on how food affects the brain and discovered that Omega-3 fatty acids were consistently found to improve mental acuity and memory. He published his results in the July 2008 issue of "Nature Reviews Neuroscience."

Essential Brain Nutrient

Omega-3 fatty acids, Gomez-Pinilla said are "essential" for normal brain function. Without it, overall brain function declines.

In addition to discovering the prevalence of Omega-3 fatty acids in most brain and memory research, Gomez-Pinilla found that a deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acid also had an affect on the brain, albeit a detrimental one. A deficiency of Omega-3 was found to be associated with an increased probability of mental disorders like ADD, dyslexia, dementia, bipolar disorder and even schizophrenia.

Gomez-Pinilla also found that children benefited from Omega-3. He discovered that children who had higher levels of Oomega-3 in their diet did better at spelling and reading and even had fewer behavioral problems in school.

How It Works

Gomez-Pinilla said that Omega-3 fatty acids were found to positively affect the molecules of the brain that were related to memory and learning. He added that Omega-3 fatty acids assist the synapses of the brain in establishing a strong connection between the neurons and the critical functions of the brain.

Considerations

Check with your doctor before starting a fish oil regimen. Especially if you suffer from depression or another mental disorder, continue to take your medication even if you start eating fish or taking fish oil capsules.

Also, fatty fish like salmon and mackerel are much lower in toxins that can harm the brain than larger fish like tuna and swordfish.