A Link Between Fatty Acids and ADHD?

According to this journal article, the way that  young children with ADHD (Attention-deficit hyperactive disorder) metabolize there essential fatty acids (mainly Omega 3 and 6's).  Both the children in the control and study group were essentially the same amounts of fatty acids, however, the study showed that the way they are metabolically processed is different.  Unfortunately, the study needs to examine fatty acid intake a bit more strategically in order to find out how much more fatty acids should be taken in order to help prevent this metabolic process so that the kids with ADHD can have normal fatty acid profiles.  Once this study is done, I hope it will shed some light on a "cure" for ADHD that would be more based on diet instead of throwing pills around like Adderall or Ritalin which are just temporary cures.  Maybe in the long run, a better diet filled with more fatty acids could stop the ADHD problems overall, and I hope a study is done to find this out!

Essential Fatty Acids and Cognition

According to a journal article I have found, essential fatty acids are extremely important in cognitive development all throughout human life.  I found it's important in pre-natal neurodevelopment, as well as, protecting against neurodegeneration in older adults.  Along with protecting against neurodegeneration, the study has shown that it could also positively reduce the risk of a patient suffering from a cognitive impairment later on in life.  Unfortunately, since further research needs to be done, the article doesn't provide a conclusion to how the essential fatty acids, mainly Omega-3 fatty acids, could be dosed to provide the proper amount to reduce the negatives of cognitive aging and protect against it.  I personally hope that more studies are done on essential fatty acids and cognitive health because what this article shows  , in my opinion is extremely promising and is definitely something that should be researched even further.

Omega-3s and Muscle Mass

When trying to stay or become more healthy, most people aim to gain lean muscle mass and loss fat mass.  They want the lean muscle mass because it burns more fat, appears leaner (so they look more in-shape), and it increases their metabolism so they can become healthy individuals overall (Livestrong).  A study was done on healthy adults that used fish oil as a supplement, mainly composed of Omega-3s, and it found that the adults that took the fish oil gained more lean muscle mass and lost more fat mass.  So for those looking to lose weight or to be healthier overall it would be obvious after reading this that one should look into taking a fish oil supplement.  If there is anything that can help people lose the bad weight and gain good muscle mass, I would definitely recommend taking it because I feel like there are a huge amount of people that could use the healthy effects of Omega-3 in their lives, whether its through diet or through supplementation.  A link to the article can be found here.  


Reference List:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/248773-define-lean-muscle-mass/

Omega-3s And Stroke Prevention

According to the CDC, every 40 seconds, someone in America suffers a stroke.  And every three to four minutes someone dies from a stroke.  For me, this is a very serious problem.  Especially since the CDC ranks it as the third most common cause of death to Americans behind coronary heart disease and cancer.  In my last post I talked about how Omega-3s are useful in preventing heart disease, and this week I found a journal article thats shows the eating plenty of fish, filled with essential fatty acids, can also help prevent strokes!  This article from the Journal of American Medicine Association states that "eating fish at least once a month reduces risk of ischemic stroke."  It would seem to me that eating something like fish, that contains huge amounts of essential fatty acids, that can lower risk for heart disease and stroke should be extremely important in every ones diet!  And if the fish itself can't be obtained, from the articles I have read,  a fish oil supplement seems to do the trick just as well.  I just hope this article I found can help people make some smarter health decisions when it comes to buying there foods.  Also, if fish or a fish oil supplement isn't obtainable please check out this link to another post of mine .  It has plenty of other options to obtain both Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids.

Reference List:

http://www.cdc.gov/stroke/facts.htm

Fatty Acids and Heart Health

According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2006, heart disease accounted for 26% of American deaths for that year.  Essentially one in four Americans died from coronary artery disease.  Little do people know, Omega-3 fatty acids actually help prevent heart disease!  This journal article gives an overview of how studies have been used to show how effect Omega-3s are at preventing many heart problems.  For example, one of the studies in the article discuss how Omega-3s showed a 29% reduction in cardiac  arrhythmias (irregular electrical activity in the heart) in people that had already suffered a myocardial infarction( a heart attack).  The article also tells about how fatty acids were initially found to held heart health due to the fact that Greenland Eskimos who had a diet that mainly consisted of fish, high in Omega 3s, had significantly less deaths due to coronary heart disease than Americans.  All in all, it is very informative and goes to show that a simple way to protect your heart from disease is get more essential fatty acids in your diet!


reference list:


http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/facts.htm

Fatty Acids a cure for PMS?

As a man I really have no idea what exactly women go through when suffering from Premenstrual Syndrome, but according to a news article on CBS these problems they go though could potentially be ended with a treatment containing Omega-6 fatty acids (Lionleic Acid, as mentioned in the article).  Apparently when combined with Vitamin E and other "essential oils" the fatty acids help reduce the problems of acne, bloating, weight gain, headaches, and even more problems that all women have to suffer through.  As a man I am completely glad I do not have to go through many of these problems that women do, but as scientific studies progress with Essential Fatty Acids, maybe women won't have to go through too many of these problems anymore either.

Fatty Acids and Diabetes

Diabetes is a problem that affects millions of people around the world.  It is a problem where the pancreas either does not produce insulin, it produces very little insulin, or the human body becomes insulin resistant (WebMD).  Because diabetes is such a big problem, doctors decided to try and see if Omega-3 fatty acids could have a positive effect in reducing the risks and problems associated with type 2 diabetes.  In a Chinese health study patients were given both marine and non-marine sources of Omega-3 fatty acids to see if one would be better than the other, or to see if both would cause the same results.  What they found completely astounded me.  According to the study, higher Omega-3 intakes were inversely associated with diabetes risk.  Meaning that consuming products that were high in Omega-3's actually put people at a lower risk to develop diabetes.  So I think it would be safe to say that in order to avoid getting diabetes, which according to WebMd over 50 million Americans are predisposed to getting, people need to get a higher level of Omega-3s into their diets!

A link to the study can be found here.

Reference list:

http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/diabetes-causes

Where to find your EFA's

Getting enough essential fatty acids in one's diet shouldn't be a hard thing to do, but incase that it is there is a link I have found with a list of food sources that contain the vital Omega 3 and 6 acids that our bodies need.  That link can be found here.

Omega 3's and Lung Injuries

When looking for a way to help reverse the effects of Acute lung injuries, someone thought up the idea of using fatty acids to increase plasma in the lungs to help these patients so they wouldn't need the use of a ventilator.  While a good idea it seemed on paper, the actual study proved to not work out quite so well in the long run.  While using Omega 3 fatty acids id increase the plasma level in the lungs, this plasma increase didn't affect the acute lung injuries that the patients already had.  While it didn't improve the injury at all, it actually ended up making it worse.  The study actually had to be stopped early because patients taking the Omega 3 regiment had more days where they needed the use of a ventilator and ended up spending more days in intensive care.  So while it was thought that Omega 3's could be a very useful healing source, it appears that these essential fatty acids definitely are not a form of miracle drug that can be used to fix lung injuries.

A link to the study can be found here

Importance of Fatty Acids

Here is a nice youtube video that stresses the importance of essential fatty acids, and also explains how they work:   

Omega 3's and Bone Health

When discussing health, it would be easy to assume that fats really can't have any effect on the development of bones.  At least not in a positive way, one would assume.  However, this is not actually the case.  Studies noted in this article showed that the people that consumed higher amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids actually prevented bone loss.  Another thing that the Omega 3's did was help postmenopausal women maintain their bone mass so that they wouldn't suffer from osteoporosis.  In this same study it is noted that, "This study indicates that omega-3 fats can help maintain bone mineral density as well as help curtail inflammation in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis...", so i think that really sums up how important fatty acids are in relation to bone health.  

Another thing studied in this article was how fatty acids relate to dental health.  It notes that doctors are now starting to use the fatty acids anti-inflammatory properties in order to prevent periodontal disease, an extremely common problem that plagues older adults.  This disease causes erosion to the bone that holds the teeth and weakens the jaw bone, but the progress being made by the doctors with the omega 3's is starting to show that these omega 3's may in fact prevent against the inflammation that causes the bone and tooth loss.    

Omega 3 Fatty Acid Structure

This is what an Essential Fatty Acid looks like at the molecular level.  

More info on What Essential Fatty Acids Are

Here is a link to wikipedia that describes more thoroughly what exactly an essential fatty acid is, and what some of the functions are.  It also gives some resources as to which foods contain these acids and how they relate to health.  I know the jury is still out on whether wikipedia is a good source for info, but a lot of this page has been cited to other more reliable sources, so I think this link should actually be quite helpful.


Here's the link to the page.

First Look at Essential Fatty Acids and Health

Normally when I hear the word fat or fatty acid, I wouldn't associate it with being something that is healthy and that the human body needs.  However, thats exactly what essential fatty acids are.  According to the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, these acids, known mainly as Omega-3 fats and Omega-6 fats, are needed for basic functionality of all the tissues in the human body.  Also, a lack of these fats can lead to a number of symptoms and disorders such as abnormalities in the liver and kidneys, changes in the blood, reduced growth rates, decreased immune function, depression, and skin changes including dryness and scaliness.  On the other side of the coin, these Omega fats are extremely healthy because they prevent atherosclerosis, reduce the rate of heart disease and stroke, and relief from symptoms of ulcerative colitis, menstrual pain, and joint pain.  So it just goes to show that even though something could have a name with a negative connatation , it doesn't mean that it would be bad for you.  And if anything, it could even be something that your body needs! I guess thats why they call them ESSENTIAL fatty acids!