Think about a house for a minute. Do you want to live in one that’s been built with shoddy or inappropriate materials or one that has been put together with what it’s supposed to be put together with?
Most people will want the good quality one, because they’ve got some reassurance that it won’t go wrong and fall down. It’s just going to need some maintenance as you go along. So it almost goes without saying, most of us want a house that’s been built properly with the right materials, and when maintenance is needed we want that done properly too.
Most people have got this right when it comes to houses, but the most important thing you live in is your body. Your body is built out of what you eat, so it makes sense you will have a better quality body the better quality food you eat.
Last week I wrote about decreasing brain size which is thought to be related to the reduced quality of fat in many people’s diet. Many people are doing low fat diets and just aren’t getting enough fat full stop.
Omega 3 Deficiency
The dry weight of your brain is mostly fat and a good part of that is one of the omega 3s. In hunter gatherer times humans mainly got this from wild meat and fish. Unfortunately today’s farmed meat and fish are generally very deficient of these fats and so don’t give the people eating them enough for their own needs.
Give Your Brain a Boost
It’s relatively easy to get more than enough omega 3 if you know what to eat, and when you do this your brain (as well as the rest of your body) will be healthier and last longer. Oily wild fish is a great source, for example salmon, tuna and mackerel. Meat fed exclusively on grass (i.e. their natural diet) is a good source. Eggs are good too (providing the chickens have had some normal diet) – omega 3 is in the yolk. For veggies flax (linseed) oil is a great alternative.
Do your brain a favour and eat goods fats regularly.
Have an Uber Healthy week.
Dr Julie
PS Congratulations to Charumitra for winning May’s free place on Uber Slim, my online weight loss program.
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Hi Julie!
Thanks for this post! I’m constantly trying to increase my intake of omega3’s, especially with fish as the quality of the omega3 is higher than that of ALA only. I was wondering if you have any recommendations on whether or not it is important to have lots of different kinds of fish or it’s okay to have for instance salmon everyday (most easily found), and whether or not there are mercury poisoning issues. I’ve looked online and heard it shouldn’t be a problem, but I wanted to know if there are any medical perspectives on it.
Thanks for this post! I’m obsessed with upping my omega3 fatty acids and looking at different ways to incorporate them!
xxx,
Catt
Hi Catt
For those that don’t know – ALA is the plant version of omega 3. Humans have to convert this into its usable form and that’s a complicated process. The omega 3 you get in fish doesn’t need this conversion, it’s ready for your body to use.
I tend to vary my sources of omega 3 between various wild fish, sometimes I take krill oil supplements and I regularly use flax oil. When you mix it up like this, and not rely mainly on one sort of food, you minimise problems with potentially contaminated food.