What are the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids?

Omega-3 fatty acids are some of the most important nutrients you can give your brain; EPA and DHA do wonders for your mood and intelligence. Psychotherapist Mike Dow, PsyD, describes the different types and benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

Transcript

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EPA will make you feel happy and peaceful. We know that consuming EPA can help with anger.

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Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most important things that you can give your brain. They say that it was the high omega-3 diet of people

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that lived around the coasts that is what helped prehumans to evolve into who we really are today

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as these very intelligent human beings with the brains that we do have. Now the problem is the modern American diet

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has shifted away from a high omega-3 diet to a high omega-6 diet. So looking at what omega-3 does for you, the two main kinds

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of omega-3s that your body and brain uses, EPA and DHA. EPA will make you feel happy and peaceful.

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We know that consuming EPA can help with anger. It can result in a 20% reduction in anxiety.

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So it really does wonders for your mood. The other kind of omega-3, DHA, is very good for intelligence.

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We know that kids who take DHA actually score higher on intelligence tests. It actually helps with our working memory for adults.

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So if you are having some problems with scatterbrain and you're not remembering things as much, you're probably not getting as much DHA.

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Now there's that third kind of omega-3 that is found in a lot of things like kombucha and some sources that are non-fish sources, like some

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of these pastas that are enriched with things like flaxseed. Well, the only problem with ALAs is

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that they are not what is actually used in the body in the brain. ALAs have to convert into EPA and DHA before they are used.

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What's very interesting is that we believe that the level of estrogen affects how well you convert that ALA into DHA and EPA.

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And the higher level of estrogen, the better that conversion is. That means that women are always going to convert

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that better than men. But it also means that women, as estrogen levels start to decline, as women get older, the less of that omega-3

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that you need to actually feel better that you are actually getting from that same source. So when people drink some kombucha-- and there's

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2,500 milligrams of omega-3s. And you think, oh, I'm done for the day. I'm done for the week. I don't need to have any wild salmon this week.

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Well, guess again because that 2,500 milligrams of ALA, you may not be getting any or very little of the EPA

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and the DHA that you need, which is why we really need to go to those wild-caught fish sources

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or for vegetarians going to algae protein supplements. It'll do wonders for your mood.

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It'll do wonders for your brain and even help you to look better. And your skin will glow. And you're going to feel better if you really

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invest in those omega-3s and all the health benefits. [AUDIO LOGO]