The Brain Needs Animal Fat.

“Our Brains Need Animal Fat to Fully Function”Show more

Our brains are two-thirds fat; of that, 20% is supposed to be comprised of an omega-3 fatty acid called DHA.

There are no plant sources of DHA, only animal sources.

What happens when you don’t get enough DHA?

Bad things.

DHA is required for the formation of myelin, the white matter that insulates our brain circuits, allowing electricity to flow through them and our nervous system to function properly.

It also helps maintain the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from pathogens and toxins.

“Perhaps most importantly, DHA is critical to the development of the human cortex—the part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking,” writes Harvard-trained psychiatrist Georgia Ede in a Psychology Today article titled “The Brain Needs Animal Fat.”

“Without DHA, the highly sophisticated connections necessary for sustained attention, decision-making, and complex problem-solving do not form properly.

It has been hypothesized that without DHA, consciousness and symbolic thinking—hallmarks of the human race—would be impossible.”

DHA plays a “unique and indispensable role” in the “neural signalling essential for higher intelligence.” — says Simon Dyall PhD, Lipid Research Scientist Bournemouth University, in his 2015 study on the matter.

Our first animal source of DHA is our mothers, in their wombs during the third trimester, and then from their mammary glands, ideally for at least 2 years.

“If enough DHA isn’t available to the baby during this critical 27-month window, it is unclear whether the consequences can be completely undone,” Ede says.

Those consequences include ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, mood disorders and other psychiatric disorders, she says.

Around 80% of American adults are deficient in DHA.

Even many meat eaters are deficient, Ede says, because of the high concentration of the omega-6 fatty acid LA (linoleic acid) in their diets, especially from refined vegetable oils.

When too much LA is present in the body, it reduces the production and bioavailability of DHA, a 2014 study shows.

What is clear is the fewer animal foods we eat, the lower our DHA levels tend to be.

Compared to omnivores, DHA levels are 31% lower in vegetarians and almost 60% lower in vegans, a 2005 study found.

The best sources of DHA are wild-caught fatty fish like anchovies, salmon, herring, mackerel and tuna, and wild or pasture-raised meats, eggs and dairy.

It’s important to note, factory-farmed, grain-fed animal products are not nearly as high in DHA, and contain a harmful concentration of omega-6 fatty acids.

For those of you who absolutely will not eat animal products, there is one non-animal, non-plant source — algae oil.

However, it is a refined product, making it less bioavailable and it contains lower amounts of DHA per calorie than animal sources.”

Did you know that the environmental toll of crop farming is far greater than animal husbandry?

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