This particular family of fats makes our brains work better.
In other words – Omegas makes us better.
Omegas are gifts from plants
What is Omega
This is a compound that is categorized as ‘fats’.
The compound is a long chain of carbon and hydrogen that has oxygen and hydroxyl at the last carbon end – together called a carboxyl (COOH).
Omega 3,6 and 9 refers to the location where the double bond exists in this structure.
For omega 3 – the double bond is between 3rd and 4th Carbon
For omega 6 – the double bond is between 6th and 7th Carbon
There is also the configuration in which they exist – trans or cis – but that’s not relevant to this paper.
All the acronyms you’ll hear when talking about omegas – ALA, DHA, EPA, LA, GLA – they are all just fats.
Why call them ‘Essential’ ?
If you don’t eat omegas – you don’t get omegas. The body cannot make these fats on its own.
The body cannot make many things – but omegas are needed. And yet the body can’t make it. That’s contrary to our survival mechanisms.
Calling it essential is a ‘recommendation’ – not a feature.
Are omegas truly essential ?
The brain and the central nervous system needs Omegas.
It goes from ‘needed’ to ‘essential’ when the top boss wants it.
Omegas undergo a complex metabolic process in the body.
[Refer : Aug 2023 Research on Metabolism of Omegas]
This is comprised of about 7 to 8 steps where each type of Fat gets broken down, re-assembled – and then again broken down for absorption by the body.
All food undergoes such kind of metabolic process.
Omega is special because this food is for the brain – so only the brain can tell the difference.
And the brain does tell the difference.
You’ll notice it on skin and hair. Good omegas are going to make you glow from inside and outside. That’s just how the brain works.
Unfortunately, we can’t make omegas in our recycling plant (the human system) – so we need to ingest them via our diet.
What are conclusive science based benefits of eating Omegas ?
Omegas directly make the brain work better. So everything we’re designed to do as an animal on earth – gets done better.
Fat loss in a systematic and natural way – so you can run faster when the predator is chasing you.
Procreation and reproduction – your reproductive organs will work better. So your chances of populating your species is higher.
Eating and growing – exactly why mother nature made us.
Digestion will improve greatly – because the blood quality will improve – because the brain’s signaling will improve. You’ll stop having digestive issues.
Better sleep – also sleep during the day – as evolution demands. Which is why we have eyelids and all land animals too.
I’ve heard fish oil has omegas. What else is there to know ?
Fish meat, oil and body parts have shown to have EPA and DHA – sub categories of the omega 3 group. These 2 are especially of interest because they are demonstrating they can exist in both O3 and O6 formats. Watch the Science Annexure section.
What’s interesting is that fish don’t make omega – just like us humans don’t. Fish get omegas from the phytoplankton they eat.
No animal makes omega – we all get it from the plants and their seeds.
Humans eating animals that eat those plants – that’s new exploration for science because each animal group (like poultry, redmeat, seafood) processes omegas differently.
What does Omega do for our brain ?
Rats were exposed to Radiation. And Omegas protected the Myelin sheath from rupturing !
[Source : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/01443615.2015.1065230 ]
The brain is a soup of fat – which has electrical wires submerged in it.
These wires send electrical impulses through them. Everything starts with those impulses.
These impulse experience a ‘resistance’ because of the soup. There is resistance in each wire too. We’re sending about 50mv each neuron transaction. And we have about 80 Billion neurons at work while we’re awake.
Each wire carries an individual sheath that protects it from damage. This protective sheath is called MYELIN – and it’s made from omegas.
So when you eat good omegas – 2 things happen :
(1) The soup’s overall ‘resistance’ reduces. So a lesser amount of current can reach the other end of the wire. This obviously increases the life of the wire and its functioning.
(2) The individual neuron’s myelin sheath repairs in time – preventing the neuron from possible burnout or death.
What’s the confusion between 3,6 and which is more helpful?
Omegas don’t exist in isolation in nature.
But you can get them in a configuration of a pill, liquid or even a synthetic food item.
They are fats – that many plant seeds carry – like flaxseed, soybean, pumpkin seeds, etc.
Recently hempseeds have been found to carry a fantastic ratio of omegas. Watch the Science Annexure section.
Hold on – what’s this ‘ratio’ about ?
1 kg of meat doesn’t need 1 kg of salt.
Meaning – there’s a proportion to the ingredients.
The food for the body and the mind – also has similar rules.
After the food enters our body – it’s broken down by enzymes in the digestive tract. These enzymes are either secreted or created by glands as well as the digestive system itself. Liver, Pancreas are both involved. Even the blood plays a major role in dispersing hormones at this stage.
For digestion to be effective – what matters most – is the ‘ratio’ of this food – how many grams of which food category.
If your doctor asks you to increase iron in your diet – eating a typewriter for breakfast won’t help.
Food – is ratios. Good thing is that our digestion and brain have already figured that out – we just need to dump good stuff in.
Closing Notes :
A leaf of cabbage or a white pill – the brain can’t tell the difference up until the first set of nutrients begin breaking down.
We eat what we love to eat – because of memory – completely a neural concept in existence and execution.
New food is a new memory. It’s all connected.
Our relationship with that specific food is decided after the memory is made. Notice how watching new food on youtube is such a ‘brain’ experience.
The body is a fantastic recycling plant – it will figure out what exactly needs to be recycled – and what needs to be pooped out.
Can dogs eat Omegas ?
Dogs can eat everything that we humans can eat.
That’s one big reason why they decided to move away from their wolf germline and become domesticated – our food scraps were easy to source for them as food.
ARE RATIOS MAKING ANY DIFFERENCE ?
According to Karger’s defining research on Omega ratios – the ratio effects on the brain are broken into 5 categories with omegas in the diet :
- Modification of neural membrane fluidity
- Modification of activity-bound enzymes
- Modification of the number and affinity of receptors
- Modification of the function of the neuronal membrane ionic channels
- Modification of the production of neurotransmitters and brain peptides
When receptors increase (#3), you can be sure of increasing brain capacity – both in terms of functioning as well as memory.
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What is Interoception?
Besides the 5 known senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and taste (SSSTT) – there are 3 more senses our brains work with.
Proprioception – the guesswork of where limbs are when we can’t see them. Footballers are using the top of their heads for changing the trajectory of a ball which is already on a curving trajectory.
Vestibular – a sense of which way gravity is pointing. We can always tell that no matter which angle we’re at.
Interoception – what our brain knows about our internal well being – a stomach upset or a heartburn.
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