Monday, May 25, 2015

THE IMPORTANCE OF DHA


Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and estrogen...an unbeatable combination
After all why don't males prefer a more round or pear shaped figure?
What advantage to the species was there in men choosing women with a good figure? The answer they come up with is that men are programmed to be attracted to women with hour glass figures....36-24-36 lol....who will lead to smarter offspring...with more DHA in their brains, too. ...
A woman’s figure signals (to a male) the abundance of her DHA fat supply. That’s where a woman's abundance of DHA fatty acids are stored
Studies show that women with curvier hourglass figures have more DHA stored in their body fat.
And because DHA makes brains work better, these curvier women also tend to have smarter children and, contrary to what you might expect, to be smarter themselves.
•Since omega-3 fats must come from our diets, the amount we can store in body fat depends on how much we can get from the food we eat.
Unfortunately, American women (and men, and children) are now seriously deprived of omega-3 fat. Food companies eliminate them from products in order to extend shelf life. But as the amount of omega-3 in the American food supply has been shrinking, we’ve been getting much more of another fat, omega-6, which is cheaper, more stable—and undermines our ability to get enough omega-3.
•As a result, American women now have very low levels of DHA in their stored fat, as indicated by the amount of DHA in a mother’s milk
•Less satisfied, we eat more. Studies show that we are hungrier after a meal high in omega-6s than after one with more omega-3s.
•The DHA-rich fat deposits that give women curvy hips and thighs are an almost irresistible nonverbal mating message to men. It not only makes a woman visually attractive to males, it also signals that she has plenty of brain-building fats to confer on progeny—nature's own Head Start.
•But that's only the start of the cognitive benefits of hip fat.
That gluteofemoral fat also boosts social intelligence in women. It makes them good at understanding the mental states of others.
While a low waist-hip ratio accounts for 7 percent of the variance in general intelligence, in studies he conducted at the University of Albany (New York), where he is professor of psychology, he has found that it accounts for a sizable 20 percent of variance in SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
Docosahexaenoic acid in neural signaling systems.
ttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17180872
Docosahexaenoic acid has been conserved in neural signalling systems in the cephalopods, fish, amphibian, reptiles, birds, mammals, primates and humans.
This extreme conservation, despite wide genomic changes over 500 million years, testifies to a uniqueness of this molecule in the brain. The brain selectively incorporates docosahexaenoic acid and its rate of incorporation into the developing brain has been shown to be greater than ten times more efficient than its synthesis from the omega 3 fatty acids of land plant origin.
Data has now been published demonstrating a significant influence of dietary omega 3 fatty acids on neural gene expression. As docosahexaenoic acid is the only omega 3 fatty acid in the brain, it is likely that it is the ligand involved.
The selective uptake, requirement for function and stimulation of gene expression would have conferred an advantage to a primate which separated from the chimpanzees in the forests and woodlands and sought a different ecological niche. In view of the paucity of docosahexaenoic acid in the land food chain it is likely that the advantage would have been gained from a lacustrine or marine coastal habitat with access to food rich in docosahexaenoic acid and the accessory micronutrients, such as iodine, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium, of importance in brain development and protection against peroxidation
A quantum theory for the irreplaceable role of docosahexaenoic acid in neural cell signalling throughout evolution.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23206328
The unique molecular structure of DHA allows for quantum transfer and communication of π-electrons, which explains the precise depolarisation of retinal membranes and the cohesive, organised neural signalling which characterises higher intelligence.
Fossil intracellular structures are so similar to extant organisms that they were likely made with similar membrane lipids and proteins, which together provided for organisation and specialisation.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) provided the core for the development of the photoreceptor, and conversion of photons into electricity stimulated the evolution of the nervous system and brain.
Gender differences in the n-3 fatty acid content of tissues.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18234128
Human studies have identified that males and females appear to differ in their ability to synthesise EPA and DHA from ALNA, with associated differences in circulating concentrations.
Dietary n-3 PUFAcids have many beneficial effects on cell and tissue function and on human health.
In mammals the n-3 essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALNA) can be converted into longer-chain (LC) n-3 PUFA such as EPA and DHA via a series of desaturase and elongase enzymes that are mainly active in the liver.
These findings suggest that sex hormones act to modify plasma and tissue n-3 PUFA content, possibly by altering the expression of desaturase and elongase enzymes in the liver, which is currently under investigation.
Like human subjects, female rats have higher plasma DHA concentrations than males. Rats also respond to increased dietary ALNA in a way that is comparable with available human data.
The concentrations of LC n-3 PUFA in rat plasma and tissues are positively associated with circulating concentrations of oestradiol and progesterone and negatively associated with circulating concentrations of testosterone.
Based on studies of women using the contraceptive pill or hormone-replacement therapy and of trans-sexual subjects it is suggested that sex hormones play a role in these differences.
Researchers discovered that having seafood on the menu at least twice a week reduces the risk of depression among females by 25 per cent.
However, for men, fish had no protective effect.
The paper – published in the American Journal of Epidemiology – speculates that high levels of omega-3 fatty acids may combine with the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone to keep the brain functioning properly.
A team from the Menzies Research Institute in Tasmania, Australia, tracked more than 1,400 men and women aged between 26 and 36 for a period of five years.
In a study appearing today in The Journal of Neuroscience, UCI neurobiologists report that dietary deficiencies in the type of fatty acids found in fish and other foods can limit brain growth during fetal development and early in life. The findings suggest that women maintain a balanced diet rich in these fatty acids for themselves during pregnancy and for their babies after birth.
Brain development suffers from lack of fish oil fatty acids, study finds
http://medicalxpress.com/…/2015-04-brain-lack-fish-oil-fatt…
When we changed the diets of DHA-deficient mothers to include a proper level of this dietary fatty acid, neuronal and synaptic growth flourished and returned to normal in the following generation of tadpoles," Cohen-Cory said.
DHA is essential for the development of a fetus's eyes and brain, especially during the last three months of pregnancy. It makes up 10 to 15 percent of the total lipid amount of the cerebral cortex.
DHA is also concentrated in the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eyes, where it accounts for as much as 50 percent of the total lipid amount of each retina
The findings suggest that women maintain a balanced diet rich in these fatty acids for themselves during pregnancy and for their babies after birth.
These fatty acids are precursors of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which plays a key role in the healthy creation of the central nervous system. I
In their study, which used female frogs and tadpoles, the UCI researchers were able to see how DHA-deficient brain tissue fostered poorly developed neurons and limited numbers of synapses, the vital conduits that allow neurons to communicate with each other.
The well documented greater efficiency of preformed docosahexaenoic acid for brain incorporation during development would have conferred a distinct survival advantage over those without it.
We conclude that PUFA-enriched diets lead to significant changes in expression of several genes in the central nervous tissue, and these effects appear to be mainly independent of their effects on membrane composition.
The direct effects of PUFA on transcriptional modulators, the downstream developmentally and tissue-specifically activated elements might be one of the clues to understanding the beneficial effects of the omega-3 PUFA on the nervous system.
Furthermore, data has now been published demonstrating a significant influence of dietary omega 3 fatty acids on neural gene expression.
• In this recent study they explore the
"Effects of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on brain gene expression
http://www.pnas.org/content/101/30/10931.full
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are essential structural components of the central nervous system. Their role in controlling learning and memory has been well documented.
A nutrigenomic approach with high-density microarrays was used to reveal brain gene-expression changes in response to different PUFA-enriched diets in rats. In aged rats fed throughout life with PUFA-enriched diets, genes with altered expressions included transthyretin, α-synuclein, and calmodulins, which play important roles in synaptic plasticity and learning.
The effect of perinatal omega-3 PUFA supply on gene expression later in life also was studied.
Several genes showed similar changes in expression in rats fed omega-3-deficient diets in the perinatal period, regardless of whether they or their mothers were fed omega-3 PUFA-sufficient diets after giving birth.
While recent reports question whether fish oil supplements support heart health, UC Irvine scientists have found that the fatty acids they contain are vitally important to the developing brain.
The brain selectively incorporates docosahexaenoic acid and its rate of incorporation into the developing brain has been shown to be greater than ten times more efficient than its synthesis from the omega 3 fatty acids of land plant origin.
As docosahexaenoic acid is the only omega 3 fatty acid in the brain, it is likely that it is the ligand involved.
The selective uptake, requirement for function and stimulation of gene expression would have conferred an advantage to a primate which separated from the chimpanzees in the forests and woodlands and sought a different ecological niche.
Since then, DHA has been conserved as the principle acyl component of photoreceptor synaptic and neuronal signalling membranes in the cephalopods, fish, amphibian, reptiles, birds, mammals and humans.
This extreme conservation in electrical signalling membranes despite great genomic change suggests it was DHA dictating to DNA rather than the generally accepted other way around. .
What advantage to the species was there in men choosing women with a good figure? The answer researchers have come up with is that men are programmed to be attracted to women with hour glass figures....36-24-36 lol....who will lead to smarter offspring...with more DHA in their brains, too. ...
A woman’s figure signals (to a male) the abundance of her DHA fat supply. That’s where a woman's abundance of DHA fatty acids are stored
Studies show that women with curvier hourglass figures have more DHA stored in their body fat.
And because DHA makes brains work better, these curvier women also tend to have smarter children and, contrary to what you might expect, to be smarter themselves.
So if you want to find out how to "grow" the feminine Brain as well as how enhance feminine curves....the synergy of estradiol HRT and DHA is something that does deserve serious consideration.
And you can never eat enough salmon, tuna, and sardines if you want to enjoy the benefits of estradiol which works in concert with the DHA to create beautiful bodies and brainy women.
Low levels of omega-3 fatty acids may cause memory problems
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/…/120227162549.htm
A diet lacking in omega-3 fatty acids, nutrients commonly found in fish, may cause your brain to age faster and lose some of its memory and thinking abilities, according to a new study. Omega-3 fatty acids include the nutrients called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
DHA improves memory and cognitive function in older adults, study suggests
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/…/101108151346.htm
The study found that DHA taken for six months improved memory and learning in healthy, older adults with mild memory complaints.
study published in the November edition of Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association suggests that taking docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may improve memory and learning in older adults with mild cognitive impairments. This is promising news for many aging Americans who are searching for options to maintain memory and support overall cognitive health.
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