Omega-3s and brain health
Modern diets can leave us short on essential fatty acids. Barbara Pinho looks into how this is affecting our health and our brains in particular
Half a century ago, scientists looked at the Inuit population to study omega-3s and human health for the first time. Indigenous to northern Canada and Greenland, the Inuit have a diet rich in fish and meat with few vegetables and fruits, given the cold and remote locations they live in. Despite their fatty diets, scientists saw a remarkably low number of cardiovascular incidents in the population. To find out why, two Danish researchers studied Inuits’ lipidic profiles in the 1970s,. They drew hypotheses on the role of fat in the body and how the intake of foods rich in omega-3s could affect human health. The field has developed since then, and omega-3 fatty acids are far more familiar nowadays.
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the main polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), alongside omega-6. Like all PUFAS, omega-3 and omega-6 are made up of long chains of carbon atoms with a carboxyl group at one end of the chain and a double bond three or six atoms from the other end, hence the name. Many forms of omega-3 exist, but the most studied are the alpha-linolenic (ALA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids. Humans need them all in their bodies.