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Food for Thought: Brain Nutrition for Mental Fitness and Health

By Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com

Updated: March 18, 2007

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Why Your Brain Needs Fats:

All fats are not created equal. To function well, your brain needs a good supply of essential fatty acids. Since the body cannot produce these fatty acids, you need to get them from food. Researchers think that these fats not only help supply oxygen to the brain, but work to protect the membranes of brain cells, prevent damage that causes dementia, Alzheimer's and other illnesses.

What Should I Eat:

In order to help your brain function best, increase you need to increase your intake of essential fatty acids known as omega-3. These fatty acids are found in fish oils, nuts, and seeds. The traditional diet of the Japanese, for example, is high in fish, which explains why the Japanese have one of the longest life expectancies in the world. You can get your fats from fish (wild salmon), nuts (walnuts), olive oil and seeds (flax seed).

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