It Takes a Lot to Be a Fathead - Part 1 |
By Dr. Tom Wnorowski
First published at www.MohrResults.com, July 2007
The dictionary tells us that a fathead is a stupid person. In all my years as a dietetics educator I have never actually seen a truly stupid person. That is just about the most subjective judgment one might make. However, I have seen many people do some stupid things. Putting a popsicle on a car’s fender in the middle of July so you are able to use both hands to retie your shoes is one of them. Another is cradling a cup of hot coffee between your thighs while negotiating the drive-thru. Stupid move. Rewarding results.
In either case the brain is responsible for the decision. More and more often, it seems, folks use the automatic part, and ignore the part that requires purposeful use of the thing.
Evolutionists believe that the brain suddenly changed millions of years ago, enabling humans to compute, to store, and to manage information like never before. If the brain “evolved,” why hasn’t it become even more efficient over the centuries, rendering the ominous “You never listen to me” an unnecessary retort?
In this article I will talk about brain health. First, I think it is important to know a little about the marvel itself.
The brain’s primary link to its environment at the chemical level is food, which affects the brain chemicals that influence mood and behavior. These are the thought processes that ultimately create what we are. What you eat is within your power to control. The more we know about the food-brain connection, the more empowered we are to make beneficial dietary decisions.
Fatty acids are used by the brain to create special cells that allow us to think and to feel. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been discovered to be a major player in the development of the brain. Found abundantly in colostrums, DHA is necessary for normal electrochemical activity. This explains the desirability of breast feeding over man-made formulas in a child’s early years. Seafood also contains DHA, allegedly giving ancient
coastal societies a developmental advantage over their inland counterparts.
About two-thirds of your brain is made from fats. But not just any kind. The same fats required for the young brain are required for the mature one. When you digest the fats in food, they are broken down into fatty acid molecules of various lengths. These are then used to assemble specific types of fat that are incorporated into cell membranes. Passing through the cell membrane are oxygen, glucose (needed for energy), and the micronutrients that cells need to work. The cell membrane then allows wastes material to exit so that we are not impaired by our own pollutants.
There are three kinds of nerve cells (neurons) in the central nervous system: sensory, associative, and motor. The sensory connect us to the world. The associative connect the sensory to the motor neurons, and the motor neurons control movement. You touch a hot iron, for example, and your sensory neurons detect heat. They send a message to the brain via the associative neurons, which then tell the motor neurons to move your hand away from the danger. Communicating neurons are covered with a kind of insulation called myelin. This protective sheath is composed of 70% fat and 30% protein. One of the most common fats here is oleic acid, which also happens to be the most abundant fatty acid in human milk. This monounsaturated fatty acid also may be found in olive oil and some nut oils.
Human and animal studies have shown that nutrition has a great influence on myelination, especially for nursing infants. French researchers simultaneously discovered that trans fatty acids, such as those found in hydrogenated oils and margarines, did indeed find their way into the myelin of brain cells and alter the electrical conductivity of the cells. Furthermore, the incorporation of trans fatty acids was almost doubled when diets were deficient in the omega-3 fatty acids, especially alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). If trans fatty acids are elevated, they are so at the expense of the benevolent essential fatty acids (EFA’s), the omega-3’s and the omega-6’s.
At last, because DHA and its accompaniment arachidonic acid are crucial to infant development, formula makers are adding them to their product. You are reading this because you have the skills needed to interpret the symbols we call the alphabet. You have those skills because you either had as an infant, or added as an adult, those EFA’s required for the brain to learn by virtue of its electrical activity. For as long as I can remember, fish has been labeled brain food. The EFA’s in the fish are exactly that.
The body’s complex manufacture of vital fatty acids is compromised by stress, infections, excess sugar, alcohol, and vitamin-mineral deficiencies. These factors are more widespread in this century than anyone ever could imagine. The loss of DHA, the most abundant fat in the brain, causes a decline in structural and functional integrity. The concomitant age-related oxidative damage results in cognitive impairment.
In Part 2 , you’ll find out how to keep your fat head as young as possible. No kidding. Scientifically sound.
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