If you’ve never taken brain supplements before and are looking for the best place to start, omega-3s are the way to go. Even if you have a few supplements in your regimen, consider adding this one into your daily intake. Omega-3s are diverse mental performance supplements. They have several key benefits that directly affect brain performance and promote a healthier brain. If you’re still uncertain, take a look at the many ways omega-3s contribute to your overall brain wellness.
What Are Omega-3 Brain Supplements?
Omega-3s are made of 3 separate fatty acids: ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). Although they are essential to your body and brain wellness, they cannot be naturally produced by the body. This means that it’s critical to implement them in your diet either through the foods you eat or through brain supplements.
It’s recommended that the average adult should consume about 250–500 mg combined EPA and DHA each day for a healthier brain. Unfortunately, most people consume far less than that amount. Omega-3 mental performance supplements are a way to guarantee your body’s and brain’s performance isn’t impacted by a lack of omega 3s.
How Omega-3s Improve Brain Wellness
DHA, ALA, and EPA work together to achieve several key functions for your overall brain wellness. Taking mental performance supplements that include these fatty acids will help make sure you’re benefiting from their effects.
- They keep cell membranes healthy.
First and foremost, omega-3s help cell membranes maintain fluidity. This means that membrane-bound receptors, proteins, and enzymes can diffuse across the membrane’s surfaces without issue. If the cell membranes were to lose fluidity, such proteins would be unable to cross. This would lead to complications in both the body and brain’s wellness.
- They help neurons communicate with each other.
Beyond helping cell membranes remain healthy, they also help the neurotransmitter receptors (located within the cell membranes) to function. Neurotransmitter receptors pick up on important information that helps facilitate the brain’s overall function. Without proper communication, the brain would decline in health and the body would show symptoms of cognitive impairment. Omega-3s work hard to increase the brain’s growth hormone levels and increase the production of these neuro-messengers. They also decrease the destruction of these messengers.
- They help blood flow sufficiently to the brain.
Studies of brain imagining demonstrate omega-3s power to improve the flow of blood in the brain. Higher blood flow, especially within the brain, helps it perform better throughout daily life– specifically through its cognitive abilities. This increase in circulation to the brain is due to the fatty acid’s ability to relax the vascular smooth muscle cells. Relaxing these muscle cells affects the cerebral vasculature, helping blood flow more easily into the brain.
- They help the brain grow tissue.
Healthy levels of omega-3 fatty acids aids in neurogenesis within the hippocampal region of the brain. The hippocampus is directly involved with cognition and behavior, so new cell growth within this region is especially important as the body ages. Omega-3s are linked with regeneration, neuroplasticity, and long-term inhibition of cell death. Fatty acids may potentially help repair damaged neurons, too, leading to an overall healthier brain.
- They help with improved cognition and reduced neurodegenerative disorders.
Omega-3s serve as anti-inflammatories. Within the brain, this means that they help reduce neurological conditions such as (but not limited to):
- Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Anxiety
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Dementia
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
It’s Never Too Late (Or Early) To Take Brain Supplements
The list of brain health benefits of omega-3s goes on and on. Its benefits are not solely limited to the adult brain, however. Fatty acids are essential in the brain performance of children, and are actually crucial to their brain’s development. Starting as early as gestation, DHA and EPA affect the development of a child’s eyes, brain, and nervous system. They work to reduce oxidative stress, which is often a complicating factor for children’s cognitive development.
As the body ages, its natural neuroplasticity declines. With this, its overall cognitive faculties begin to erode as neurons find it more difficult to regenerate. Neurotransmitters have to work harder to communicate and receive messages with one another. The increased difficulties of the brain’s natural processes reveal themselves through memory loss, lack of focus, brain fog, and other more serious neurological conditions. A steady consumption of the recommended amounts of omega-3s can help give your brain the extra boost it needs to age more healthfully.
Are Omega-3s All You Need?
Omega-3s are a staple when it comes to supplements. They’re a great place to start, or a welcomed addition to any ongoing regimen. If you find yourself struggling with issues that omega-3s can’t help with, you may benefit from considering additional brain supplements. Reach out to one of our experienced BIPRI members to chat about your other options. We would love to hear from you at 615-933-5188 or through our website.