DHA - Brain Boosting and Mercury Protecting

Not only does your heart and circulatory system love DHA, so does your brain. Your brain cells would much rather make themselves of fatty acids from DHA, compared to potato chips or French fries - something to ponder. A variety of new animal studies illustrate the brain power of DHA.

One study showed that DHA was able to maintain "marked neurite-promoting potential in neurones from adult and aged animals." The ability to generate nerve-related projections from existing old brain cells is truly amazing, and supports the notion of DHA as a superior brain anti-aging nutrient.

Another study showed that DHA helped maintain brain plasticity and cognitive function, protecting against scar tissue formation in the brain. The effects of DHA and exercise had a combined synergistic value in terms of further enhancing brain health. The researchers showed that brain brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was boosted by DHA and the result was further enhanced by exercise. BDNF is the life force of brain rejuvenation, and here are two easy ways to boost BDNF levels.

Another DHA study tested if DHA could protect brain glial cells (astrocytes) and neurons from exposure to methylmercury. Exposure to mercury without protection by DHA caused these brain cells to have severe free radical distress and reduced mitochondrial activity (energy production). Pretreatment with DHA completely prevented these adverse effects of mercury on brain cells.

DHA is one potent nutrient for brain health.

Japanese men have half the heart disease compared to any other industrialized country in the world. This is true even though they smoke more and have similar rates of cholesterol problems, blood pressure issues, and diabetes. Living in Japan, they eat fish every day and new research shows their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA/EPA) are twice as high as Japanese men living in America and white American men.

Since so much of the fish available in the U.S. market contains mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants it is wise to get your essential fatty acids from high quality molecularly distilled DHA, which should be taken daily - the higher the amount the greater the protection.

Of course, fish oil is also known to help metabolize triglycerides, those nasty fat blobs that cause so much trouble to your circulation when they are elevated.

The lead author of this study is Akira Sekikawa, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She concluded, "Our study suggests that very high levels of omega-3 fatty acids have strong properties that may help prevent the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries.While we don't recommend Americans change their diets to eat fish at these quantities because of concerns about mercury levels in some fish, increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids in the U.S. could have a very substantial impact on heart disease."

Byron Richards, CCN

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