Part 26 - Something Fishy
You may not be aware of this but as I'm writing the UK is celebrating National Chip Week. Now a week dedicated to one half of the quintessential British dish (Fish and Chips) is one thing but when will fish get a little more respect? Well this month's Backpacker Bites is about the better half of our favourite newspaper wrapped meal - fish. Not the battered mess that you find in your local takeaway, but the healthy offerings - fresh out of the water. I understand that eating fish on a daily basis is either non-desirable or impossible so I'd like to suggest a daily fish oil supplement in your diet. This way you get all the great benefits without enduring the scary taste and smell.
- Fish Oil
- The Benefits
- Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- A Helping Hand to Evolution
- Doctor Doctor
Fish Oil
So what exactly is fish oil and why should we try to swallow those weird, yellow and translucent pills? Well the real thing we're hunting for is the Omega 3 fatty acids, Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) - which you find in fish. These Omega 3 fats accumulate within fish when the fish consume the micro algae – which produce these fatty acids. At the end of the day this means a source of Omega 3 fats for us at the top of the food chain, which has a great nutritional and physical value.
The Benefits
Fish oil is generally considered to be a great anti-inflammatory agent and is used to treat arthritis, skin conditions, diabetes and many other afflictions. However there are numerous studies which have found other benefits. For example in trials conducted on prisoners in England - where the inmates were fed seafood with high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids. The increased consumption of these fatty acids led to a significant drop in the number of assaults in the studied prison population. A Finnish study found that prisoners who were convicted of violent crimes had lower levels of Omega 3 fatty acids than prisoners convicted of non-violent offences. It was suggested that these kinds of fatty acids are responsible for the neuronal growth of the frontal cortex of the brain - which it is further alleged, is the seat of personal behaviour and advanced neural development. Recent studies have also suggested that fish oil may help with depression.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
A study in England of 120 children between the ages of 6 and 12 tested the use of fish oil on the coordination and short-term memory of those diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The results suggested that after three months the group using the Omega 3 fatty acid supplements made: “highly significant improvements” - in 12 out of 13 behavioural scales. This included three diagnostic ADHD features - inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These results have led to a proposal to supplement UK school children with fish oil supplements. This also ties into a mounting concern that children aren't getting enough Omega 3 fats in their daily diets, because of a rise in the popularity of convenience food.
Further research shows that fish oil can provide tremendous results in the prevention of and recovery from Heart Disease and high blood pressure. Finally for the fitness fanatics out there, fish oil has been proven to improve insulin sensitivity and also encourage fat loss when combined with an exercise regime. The losses of fat were higher in groups given fish oil supplements versus similar groups, where the only other control was the previous existence of fish oil in the diets of participants.
A Helping Hand to Evolution
On top of all this there is also anecdotal evidence that the shift in size of the human brain may have been preceded and enabled by the movement of our ancestors towards more costal areas, plentiful with fish and other Omega 3 rich resources.
Stone Age women collecting shellfish could have had a plentiful source of brain-specific nutrition and their children would naturally have benefited. There must have been enough Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids available to provide many generations with what was required for foetal and infant development, as well as the childhood and adult development of the cardiovascular system and brain. Therefore each successive coastal generation may well have become more and more developed.
Doctor Doctor
As I point out in many of my previous columns – it's advisable to consult your doctor before you adopt any significant nutritional or physical changes in your life. However if you eat your fish just like your parents told you, or grab a healthy dose of EPA and DHA in supplement form, everything should go swimmingly.
- James
