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What Omega-3 Fatty Acids Really Do For Us
Plus: the surprising neuroprotective effect of gut microbiota
The 10almonds Team
June 12, 2023
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⏰ IN A RUSH?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
It will surprise nobody that spinach is a very healthful food, but few know all its benefits!
See today’s video for more on this
Omega-3 fatty acids come in three particularly important forms:
ALA, which comes from foods such as chia seeds and walnuts, is most versatile and can be converted into the other two forms by the body
EPA and DHA, which comes from foods such as mackerel and salmon, is most efficient and can be most easily used by the body
Omega-3 fatty acids have many benefits, including:
Against inflammation
Against menstrual pain (performed better than ibuprofen in studies!)
Against cognitive decline
Against heart disease
Many people don’t get common medical tests done as often as they should—reasons include inconvenience and inaccessibility, along with wait times
Today’s sponsor, Easy Test Hub, cuts through that to offer at-home testing for many common things
Read on to learn about these things and more…
👀 WATCH AND LEARN
This is What Happens When You Eat Spinach Every Day
Today, we dive into the potent health benefits of spinach, an antioxidant-rich superfood also filled with vitamins A, C, K, and vital minerals like iron and calcium. But what if you ate spinach every day? How would your body transform?
Menu:
💊 MAIN FEATURE
What Omega-3 Fatty Acids Really Do For Us
Shockingly, we’ve not previously covered this in a main feature here at 10almonds… Mostly we tend to focus on less well-known supplements. However, in this case, the supplement may be well known, while some of its benefits, we suspect, may come as a surprise.
So…
What is it?
In this case, it’s more of a “what are they?”, because omega-3 fatty acids come in multiple forms, most notably:
Alpha-linoleic acid (ALA)
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
Docosahexanoic acid (DHA)
ALA is most readily found in certain seeds and nuts (chia seeds and walnuts are top contenders), while EPA and DHA are most readily found in certain fish (hence “cod liver oil” being a commonly available supplement, though actually cod aren’t even the best source—salmon and mackerel are better; cod is just cheaper to overfish, making it the cheaper supplement to manufacture).
Which of the three is best, or do we need them all?
There are two ways of looking at this:
ALA is sufficient alone, because it is a precursor to EPA and DHA, meaning that the body will take ALA and convert it into EPA and DHA as required
EPA and DHA are superior because they’re already in the forms the body will use, which makes them more efficient
As with most things in health, diversity is good, so you really can’t go wrong by getting some from each source.
Unless you have an allergy to fish or nuts, in which case, definitely avoid those!
What do omega-3 fatty acids do for us, according to actual research?
Against inflammation
Most people know it’s good for joints, as this is perhaps what it’s most marketed for. Indeed, it’s good against inflammation of the joints (and elsewhere), and autoimmune diseases in general. So this means it is indeed good against common forms of arthritis, amongst others:
Against menstrual pain
Linked to the above-referenced anti-inflammatory effects, omega-3s were also found to be better than ibuprofen for the treatment of severe menstrual pain:
Don’t take our word for it: Comparison of the effect of fish oil and ibuprofen on treatment of severe pain in primary dysmenorrhea
Against cognitive decline
This one’s a heavy-hitter. It’s perhaps to be expected of something so good against inflammation (bearing in mind that, for example, a large part of Alzheimer’s is effectively a form of inflammation of the brain); as this one’s so important and such a clear benefit, here are three particularly illustrative studies:
Against heart disease
The title says it all in this one:
But what about in patients who do have heart disease?
Mozaffarian and Wu did a huge meta-review of available evidence, and found that in fact, of all the studied heart-related effects, reducing mortality rate in cases of cardiovascular disease was the single most well-evidenced benefit:
How much should we take?
There’s quite a bit of science on this, and—which is unusual for something so well-studied—not a lot of consensus.
However, to summarize the position of the academy of nutrition and dietetics on dietary fatty acids for healthy adults, they recommend a minimum of 250–500 mg combined EPA and DHA each day for healthy adults. This can be obtained from about 8 ounces (230g) of fatty fish per week, for example.
If going for ALA, on the other hand, the recommendation becomes 1.1g/day for women or 1.6g/day for men.
Want to know how to get more from your diet?
Here’s a well-sourced article about different high-density dietary sources:
❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE
Easy Test Hub: It’s a Hub of Easy Tests
Going to get medical tests done can be onerous, time-consuming, and stressful.
In the case of simple tests, it can be extra frustrating to take all that time out of one’s day (travelling, waiting around, etc), and then think “I could have done that myself”.
Well, now you can. For a lot of common tests, anyway.
Easy Test Hub is what it sounds like: a hub, of easy tests. From there you can order many at-home test kits, including for:
Cholesterol
Blood glucose
Thyroid function
COVID
And more
(there really is more, but if we mention some of the other medical things you can get tests for, our email could end up filtered as spam, and we don’t want that)
They also have a blog, with links to information about stuff you can do for yourself at home.
There you have it, it’s a hub of easy tests 😎
Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
🌏 AROUND THE WEB
What’s happening in the health world…
Gentle cleansers just as effective as harsh soaps in killing viruses, study shows
New study reveals alarming impact of ultra-processed foods on cardiometabolic health
Blood pressure—how to measure, manage, and treat high blood pressure
Why some women should receive more than mammograms to screen for breast cancer
More to come tomorrow!
📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW
Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life - by Dr. David Perlmutter
Regular 10almonds readers probably know about the gut-brain connection already, so what's new here?
Dr. David Perlmutter takes us on a tour of gut and brain health, specifically, the neuroprotective effect of healthy gut microbiota.
This seems unlikely! After all, vagus nerve or no, the gut microbiota are confined to the gut, and the brain is kept behind the blood-brain barrier. So how does one thing protect the other?
Dr. Perlmutter presents the relevant science, and the honest answer is, we're not 100% sure how this happens! We do know part of it: that bad gut microbiota can result in a "leaky gut", and that may in turn lead to such a thing as a "leaky brain", where the blood-brain barrier has been compromised and some bad things can get in with the blood.
When it comes to gut-brain health...
Not only is the correlation very strong, but also, in tests where someone's gut microbiota underwent a radical change, e.g. due to...
antibiotics (bad)
fasting (good)
or a change in diet (either way)
...their brain health changed accordingly—something we can't easily check outside of a lab, but was pretty clear in those tests.
We're also treated to an exposé on the links between gut health, brain health, inflammation, and dementia... Which links are extensive.
In closing, we’ll mention that throughout this book we’re also given many tips and advices to improve our gut/brain health, reverse damage done already, and set ourselves up well for the future.
Click here to check out "Brain Maker" on Amazon and take care of this important part of your health!
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Wishing you the best possible start to the week,
The 10almonds Team