Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello, my little sugar cubes. Welcome to the fitness manifest podcast. If you
Speaker 1 00:00:07 Let's resort to
Speaker 2 00:00:10 Side effects might include motivation, empowerment, giggles, enlightment inspiration.
Speaker 0 00:00:17 Welcome to the fitness manifest podcast. My name is Theresa Sado. I'm a personal trainer teaching you how our bodies work, how to incorporate new healthy habits and how to reach fitness goals with longevity in mind, a few weeks ago, I was reading my pre and postnatal certification textbook, and it was talking about the benefits of omega three fatty acids on fetal development and how important it is for the development of the brain. And it got me wondering if and how omega threes also nourish adult brains, which brings me to this episode, but let's begin by defining what fatty acids are. Fatty acids are the simplest form of dietary fat. They're vital for communication within your body, known as signal transduction and these molecules serve as a fuel source for your cells. They help modified proteins. And they're the base of hormones and lipids. Let's focus on signal transduction though, which is the ability for neurons in your brain to speak to each other.
Speaker 0 00:01:17 Having fatty acids, especially omega three fatty acids, help your neurons speak better and faster, allowing you to think clear form new neural connections and store information in your long term memory. It does this by essentially lubricating the fatty cell membranes of your neurons, allowing them to easily receive and send messages. Think of your neurons like electrical cable. When the cables intact, it works as it should ending a signal from one end to the other. But if the protective sheath is damaged or worn off, it'll impact the efficiency of the cable, despite their vital role in our daily life, we can't make our own. We have to source this vital nutrient from foods. The best sources of omega threes are macro wild salmon and halibut 3.5 ounces of these fish contain at least one gram of omega three fatty acids, which is fantastic because your goal should be to consume at least six to eight ounces of omega three S or around two servings of fish a week.
Speaker 0 00:02:20 And this is according to the American heart association. If you have trouble eating this amount of fish, you can take a fish oil supplement to reach your quota, but make sure that the supplement you choose includes DHA and EPA. What are those you ask? Well, omega three fatty acids occur in three different chemical structures, DHA, EPA, and a L a DHA and EPA are found in fish while a L a is found in nuts seed oils and some plants. Our body prefers to work with omega three S in the form of DHA and EPA. And while technically your body can convert ALA to either form the conversion rate is low, like disappointingly, low DHA is also the most common form found in your brain. A whopping 90% of fatty acids up there are DHA. Most of it is found in the gray matter of your brain, which is the area responsible for processing information and memory, which is why I recommend the supplement.
Speaker 0 00:03:25 You choose mainly contain DHA with some EPA. Let's look at what science says about omega three's influence on the brain. Scientific research has been conducted to study the influence of omega three on our body and mind. One such study was conducted by Dr. Tan and his colleagues, which found older adults with low levels of DHA were showing signs of accelerated brain aging. An aging brain means that it has trouble remembering display signs of dementia and Alzheimer's, and, or has trouble performing cognitive tasks. Your Carma at L gave 485 older adults with age related, cognitive decline, 0.9 grams of DHA or a placebo every day for 24 weeks after the 24 weeks, the group taking DHA performed better on memory and learning tests, which is noteworthy. But of course, one study isn't enough to prove that fish oil can actually help. Luckily, there are more studies that back up this correlation, two systematic reviews cited 13 other cases that also demonstrated participants that supplemented with fish oil, improved their cognitive scores compared to the placebo group.
Speaker 0 00:04:42 These studies suggest that if you're showing signs of impaired memory, supplementing can help prevent further cognitive decline. The best part is that taking fish oil supplements have minimal side effects. As long as you don't exceed three grams per day, how much you should take to see improvements is still up for debate. Some participants that were taking between 0.5 to two grams of DHA, or a combination of DHA and EPA showed improvements in attention and memory. Meanwhile, some studies had participants taking 1.2 grams of DHA, and they weren't showing any improvements in executive function or visual S spatial skills. It just goes to show how complex humans are, and that fish oil is in a magic pill that will improve all aspects of cognitive function. Therefore, more research will always be needed. All these studies I read up until now use older adults with aging brains or with early signs of Alzheimer's or dementia.
Speaker 0 00:05:43 When I looked further into studies on younger brains, the results weren't as promising. If you are healthy, omega threes, won't make you smarter or improve your memory. However, including it into your diet is still a good idea because it's useful for your brain can slow down cognitive decline as you get older and helps nourish your hair, skin, and nails. So aim to eat two servings of fish per week, and I'll have a list of high omega three foods in the description box. And you can check out my Instagram for omega three meal ideas, which brings us to this week's manifest challenge. If you're new to the podcast, welcome, the manifest challenge is an action step that will help you reach your goals and live a healthier life. This week. Your goal is to include some yummy salmon or halibut in your meal prep. That's it for this episode, I'm your host coach Theresa until next time. Bye
Speaker 1 00:06:42 There.
Speaker 2 00:06:45 Side effects might include motivation, empowerment, giggles, enlightment
Speaker 0 00:06:49 Inspiration.
