Protect your brain from…zombies, part 2
Happy Halloween! I love this time of year! The food, the beautiful trees, cute Halloween costumes! It’s all great! It also gives me a perfect time to make great puns about protecting your brain from zombies and saving your blood from Dracula. I know you appreciate it!
Last week, I brought you part 1 of this fun, punny series - Protect your brain from zombies - where we discussed several foods that are great for brain health. Did you eat any of them? Or maybe just added them to your shopping list? This week, welcome to part 2! We’re digging into my favorite supplement for brain health!
The brain is a very complex organ and there is still so much we don’t know about it. But there is a lot that we do know and we know that a lot of the things we do in everyday life actually work against optimizing health. Since many of the functions of the brain are so specific, they require a ton of energy and, therefore, a ton of nutrients. When the brain doesn’t get enough nutrients or doesn’t get those nutrients in the right amounts, we may experience things such as brain fog, depression, anxiety, slow muscle recovery, and many other issues including dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Proper nutrition is essential for optimal brain health!
But what happens when we simply can’t get it all from food? That’s where supplements come in! Please remember, choosing high-quality, whole-food supplements is essential. The synthetic versions which are most of the cheap ones sold in stores today can actually do some damage. They are not well-regulated, may contain contaminants, and are probably not doing much good. So do your research and choose wisely. If you want my recommendation for a reputable brand, I would go with Optimal Health Systems. They are one of the few remaining independently owned companies that only work with whole foods instead of synthetics. You can check them out here.
My go-to supplement is an essential fatty acid. By the way, EFAs are also essential for heart health, so we’ll talk about that a little too. Let’s dig in…
Essential fatty acids are called “essential” for a reason: they are essential for human health. And two new studies—both conducted on omega-3 fatty acids—are highlighting just how diverse these health benefits are.
One study, a review of dozens of earlier studies, found that omega-3s had a “preventive role in heart failure.” The second study, conducted on American athletes, found that omega-3s helped protect the brain of football players.
Though these studies corroborate research conducted in the past two decades, the additional findings are welcome news. Since the FDA strictly limits the health claims that can be made regarding omega-3s, ongoing research will help in the push for additional claims.
Heart study details
To conduct the heart study researchers reviewed clinical trials, in vitro, and in vivo studies published since 2015. The authors of the study termed the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids as “multifaceted, by acting upon several inflammatory markers and cardiovascular functions such as flow-mediated dilation, blood pressure, and more.” The findings were published in the journal Nutrients in August 2021.
Based on several large-scale trials and meta-analyses covered in the review, the authors of the study report that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce cardiac remodeling. Cardiac remodeling, also called ventricular remodeling, is defined as a group of changes that alter the size, mass, and function of the heart after injury.
The researchers noted that omega-3s also reduce cardiac fibrosis, a scarring event within the heart. Cardiac fibrosis is most commonly caused by heart disease, aortic stenosis, and hypertension.
Remodeling and fibrosis are the two primary diagnosis factors of heart failure.
Based on the most recent studies highlighted in the review—studies which encompass the health outcomes of hundreds of thousands of patients—both the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology define dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids as an effective therapy for reducing the risk of hospitalization in heart failure patients.
Health claims that the FDA has approved can be seen in the listing at the bottom of this page.
Brain study details
To observe the benefit of omega-3 supplementation on football brain injuries researchers collected data on two male teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Players on one team received daily omega-3 fatty acid supplementation while the other team served as a control group.
Repetitive subconcussive head impacts over the course of a season were associated with increases in levels of serum neurofilament light (Nf-L). Nf-L is a biomarker of nerve fiber injury and a marker of head trauma. However, the researchers found that daily doses of omega-3 fatty acids throughout the season attenuated these Nf-L increases. The college athletes receiving the omega-3 supplements also had significantly higher omega-3 Index scores, and improved omega-6 to omega-3 ratios, compared to athletes in the control group.
The findings were published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in September 2021.
“These findings suggest a cardio and neuroprotective effect of combined EPA, DPA, and DHA supplementation in American-style football athletes,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion. “Further studies are warranted to examine the differential effects of these omega-3 fatty acids.”
If you’re ready to get your EFAs in line with what your body truly needs, speak to a qualified healthcare practitioner to help you come up with a plan. It can be a simple way to combat many health concerns, but this idea is misunderstood by many in the field who tend to over-complicate the matter. If you have questions about where to start, please reach out! I would love to help!
Peace, love & kale!
Lindsay
Article sources:
Nutrients/MDPI, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition/BioMedCentral.