Americans tend to think of themselves as getting way too much nutrition, but in truth, there are some areas where we are deficient. In fact, most of us wouldn’t recognize one area where in which we are malnourished. But it turns out that our brains might be hungry for some particular nutrients called omega-3 fatty acids, and one in particular called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

DHA is abundant in the grey matter of our brains and retinas, and this omega-3 fatty acid helps nerves communicate with each other. Our bodies can process DHA from flax, nuts, and eggs, but the best source is fatty, cold water fish like sardines and mackerel. And a lot of Americans just don’t get much of it from their diets. That’s a shame, because it turns out that low levels of DHA are associated with an array of problematic conditions, including:

• Depression
• Poor memory
• Bad eyesight
• Dementia

There has been a lot of research lately about how important DHA is to the brains and eyes of developing fetuses and infants. In fact, children whose mothers ingested low levels of DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy have been found to score lower in visual and mental tests. That is not surprising when you consider the infant brain triples in size during the first three months of life.

A diet rich in fish oil and the use of baby formula with DHA can solve this type of malnutrition. Dietary intake of DHA may also help prevent:

• Postpartum depression
• ADHD
• Low IQ
• Suicidal behavior
• Violent behavior

Two to three servings of fish a week, or taking at least 100 mg a day of a purified DHA supplement is all you need for you and baby.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

Balancing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids can protect against chronic, debilitating diseases, according to a review of current research published in Experimental Biology & Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal. According to the researchers:

• In the distant past, humans had a ratio of one part omega-6 fatty acids to one part omega-3 fatty acids (1:1).
• But in the modern world, where omega-6 fats are found in high concentrations in corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, and soybean oil, that ratio has risen to an average of 15 parts omega-6 to three parts omega-3 fats (15:3).

It is well-known that omega-3s are most abundant in cold water, oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines, as well as flaxseed, nuts, and eggs. It is also well-known, however, that most people do not consume enough DHA and other omega-3 s in their diets.

Ingesting too much omega-6 that is so prevalent in our diets has been linked to man conditions, including:

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Arthritis
• Autoimmune diseases

Additionally, the researchers discovered that maintaining a relatively low ratio of four parts omega-6 fats to one part omega-3 fats (4:1) in the human body led to a 70 percent increase in death rates. Likewise, according to the report, lowering the ratio to 2:1 or less greatly reduces the risk of lung and breast cancer, according to the report. Maintaining a healthier omega-6:omega-3 ratio also helped reverse asthma and arthritis.

Reducing your intake of oils that are packed with omega-6 fats and increasing your intake of omega-3s may have a huge impact on your health and longevity. If you cannot consume enough omega-3 in your diet by eating the right kind of food, try an omega-3 supplement.

Remember, it’s all about balance.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

Eating for two takes on a whole new meaning following a new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics. With all the emphasis on making sure infants get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids in from mother’s milk or in formula, it’s easy to forget how important these essential fats are for a child developing in the womb.

But researchers at Université Laval, Canada, discovered fetuses with higher omega-3 levels during the final months of pregnancy do better on cognitive, sensory and motor development when in infancy.

The scientists measured the levels of an omega-3 fat called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in the umbilical cords of 109 infants to determine how much DHA they had received during the last trimester of pregnancy. Among all the omega 3 fatty acids, DHA is especially crucial for developing eyes and neurons, and fetuses and infants will even naturally convert other omega-3s into DHA if necessary.

When the researchers tested the same kids at 6 months and 11 months they found that vision, cognitive, and motor skills were more developed in the infants who’d been exposed to more DHA in the womb. This factor was even more important than the amount of DHA they later ingested from mother’s milk or formula after being born. Of course, a fetus can only get as much DHA as its mother has in her own system, so the maternal diet is crucial to a child’s health. 

Based on study findings, this team of researchers recommend pregnant women consume a diet rich in omega-3s to benefit the outcome of their children’s development. That diet could include omega-3 rich fish such as trout, wild salmon and sardines, or a nutritional supplement such as Animi-3, an omega-3 fatty acids and B-vitamin supplement.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

With all the research showing the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids on a person’s heart, it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Recently, expert findings published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings condensed peer-reviewed research to summarize the latest data about how these healthy fats can improve heart health and lower levels of unhealthy cholesterol.

Researchers say the most convincing evidence that omega-3 fatty acids help hearts comes from three large trials involving more than 30,000 people. Some of the volunteers in the studies received DHA and EPA, the two omega-3 fats that are most closely associated with healthy hearts, and others received placebos. 

It turns out that those taking omega-3 supplements, or eating more fish, had between 19 and 45 percent fewer heart problems than the control group. 

According to James O’Keefe, M.D., a cardiologist from the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, evidence suggests the following: 

• People with known coronary heart disease should consume one gram of omega 3’s each day.
• People without known heart disease should consume approximately 500 milligrams of omega-3’s each day.

In addition, Dr. O’Keefe admitted those individuals with elevated triglyceride levels might benefit from as much as three to four grams of DHA and EPA per day; studies have shown that this dietary intake can significantly reduce cholesterol levels.

Two servings of fish offer approximately 500 milligrams of omega 3’s; the remaining dietary omega-3 intake can be derived from omega-3 nutritional supplements.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

Each year, approximately 565,000 Americans suffer a first heart attack, and another 300,000 people in this country suffer their second or third heart attacks. Many of them die.

New research suggests that high doses of folate, a B vitamin that is also known as folic acid, may potentially keep these 865,000 people alive and healthy.

For years physicians have been telling expecting mothers to take folic acid to prevent their babies from developing a devastating birth defect known as spinal bifida. Moreover, other studies in recent weeks have shown that folic acid may also help prevent dementia and premature births.

Folate’s role in heart health was further explored in a recent study conducted by researchers at John’s Hopkins University and other organizations that was published last week in the medical journal Circulation. Using an animal model, subjects that had received higher doses of folate had stronger hearts during a heart attack. Additionally, the scientists discovered that injecting subjects with folate in the minutes following a heart attack was very helpful during recovery.

While no one knows exactly why folate seems to have a protective effect, the researchers speculate that it has to do with the nutrient’s role in boosting the mitochondria that are essential for maintaining healthy blood vessels:  Folate may act as a store of energy in the heart that gives much needed fuel to the organ when it is being starved of oxygen at the time of a heart attack.

This research further supports the understanding that folic acid supplementation is essential and opens the door to potentially life saving cardiovascular treatments.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

You are what you eat, and so are your kids, according to new research from the Child & Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.  And it might be time to add some surf to your turf.

In this instance, a team of researchers determined the meat-centered diets that most of us eat are deficient in crucial fats that are found mainly in fish and omega-3 nutritional supplements.

According to the report, which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, these unsaturated fats, known as omega-3 fatty acids, are vital to the health of a baby’s eyes and brain as it develops.

• In the womb, the baby gets these essential fatty acids from mom via the umbilical cord.
• After birth, baby receives fatty acids from mother’s milk or infant formula containing omega-3.

In particular, the study followed 135 pregnant women who were randomly put in one of two groups:

1. One group of pregnant women was given omega-3 supplements equal to two servings of fatty fish per week.
2. The other group of pregnant women was given a placebo.

Both groups of women were given blood tests at 16 weeks and again 36 weeks for DHA (docasohexaenoic acid) levels, which is a type of omega-3 fat that has been associated with infant mental and visual development.

After both groups’ babies had been born, the researchers tested the infants’ vision and brain development and determined the infants whose mothers had taken omega-3 supplements did better on the tests. The researchers believe that simply changing from a meat-based diet to one that includes more fish and/or omega-3 supplements may help mothers raise healthier children.

Two servings of fish provide approximately 500 milligrams of omega-3 fats, which is sufficient for one day. Taking a DHA supplement is a great way to make up for any days you don’t eat fish.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

You’re mother was right — it’s never too late to take your vitamins.

It’s well known that not having enough of the B vitamin folate could put an older person at risk for the troubling problems of dementia. But a new study suggests that even people who aren’t officially “deficient” are more likely to develop the disease, which causes anxiety, melancholy, poor memory and loss of bodily functions.

The study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, centered on more than 500 South Korean men and women ages 65 years and older. Half of the participants involved in the study lived out in the country, while the other half lived in a city.

Two-and-a-half years after the study began more than eight percent of the people had developed dementia, including nearly seven percent who had Alzheimer’s disease. The researches identified a common characteristic:

The lower a participant’s folate levels, the more likely they were to have dementia.

This could be because the nutrient is essential for keeping new cells fit and working well. In general, Koreans participating in the study had higher folate levels than people in Western countries such as the United States and England; one can infer this is because the local Korean diet includes many leafy greens.  It is important to note the word “folate” is derived from “folium” or “leaf.”).

The study suggests there two simple ways to reduce your risk of dementia:

1. Eat more folate-rich foods such as fortified breakfast cereals and bread, liver, (3.5) ounces of chicken liver supply nearly twice the minimum daily requirement of folate), eggs, beans, sunflower seeds, asparagus and leafy green vegetables and citrus and melons.
2. Take a folic acid supplement so that you’re sure to have enough folic acid in your diet.

Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is available in many folic acid supplements. Animi-3 is a prescription nutritional supplement that contains 1 mg of folic acid, the amount needed to lower homocysteine, which is thought to be a risk factor for dementia and cardiovascular disease. 

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

The omega-3 fatty acid content (DHA and EPA) in fish has been found to be of great importance in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and psychiatric disorders such as depression. For those individuals unable or unwilling to eat the amount of fish necessary to meet the recommended amounts of these essential fatty acids through diet alone, relying on a pharmaceutical grade omega-3 supplement is a viable alternative.    But are all omega-3 supplements created equally? 

 When compared, fish and fish oil capsules have similar effects on the omega-3 fatty acid content of blood cells and plasma phospholipids, according to a study conducted by Dr. William Harris,* Director of the St. Luke’s Lipid and Diabetes Center in Kansas City, Mo., who randomized healthy female volunteers into two groups: 

• One group of volunteers ate two servings of salmon or albacore tuna per week
• The other group received a comparable amount of DHA and EPA in an omega-3 capsule each day 

The results of this study yield valuable information especially for those worried about the mercury content and other contaminants in fish.  Be sure to check the ratio of DHA to EPA in omega-3 supplements you purchase. Ideally, choose one that is rich in DHA with a 10:1 ratio of DHA to EPA.    *William S. Harris, James V. Petlala, Scott A. Sands and Philip G. Jones. Comparison of the effects of fish and fish oil capsules on the n-3 content of blood cells and plasma phospholipids. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol.86, No.6, 1621-1625, December 2007.

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Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., has been a researcher, consultant, and teacher of nutrition at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country. Dr. Levine is a DHA & B Vitamin Center scientific advisory board member and director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

Nutritional experts  from Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital are pleased to introduce a new weblog dedicated to communicating the clinical importance of essential nutrients in dietary health:

• DHA
• EPA
• Folic Acid
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12

The DHA & B Vitamins Center Blog is an online resource and virtual community maintained by leading medical and nutritional authorities on omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins. The parent Web site, DHAandBvitamins.org, is made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from PBM Pharmaceuticals, Inc., maker of the prescription nutritional supplement Animi-3®.

Please register with our blog and check back frequently for postings on DHA, EPA, folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.

We hope this blog will be useful to you in your clinical practice and daily life.  Please register and participate!