Kids who eat more fish sleep better, smarter(?)

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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17520-w

The longitudinal study, based on previous DHA and EPA research (fatty acids associated with cell membranes, especially in the brain) found that children who consumed more fish had statistically fewer sleep disorders, and were statistically better on IQ tests. All of this seems to be corrected for SES factors. You can read the abstract for general information.

In fact there are many different studies showing that humans require α-linoliec acid from which DHA and EPA can be synthesized (poor rate of conversion), or consuming DHA directly usually from fish. Most commercial meats are low in DHA, but wild game animals are higher as are several marine fish species.I cannot comment on the IQ part of the study, I am not qualified to assess it.

DHA = docosohexanoic acid an ω-3 fatty acid
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Docosahexaenoic_acid
EPA = eicosopentanoic acid an ω-3 fatty acid.
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/129670872

There is no firm guideline in the US for DHA/EPA, here is what physicians generally know:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Omega3FattyAcids-HealthProfessional/
Australia is more explicit and the specific values are sporadically higher than the more general US NIH suggestions:
https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/fats-total-fat-fatty-acids
 
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My mother being French Mediterranean, and living on the gulf of Mexico, we had fresh fish at least twice a week. My brother got a more "American" diet to please my father of fried foods and beef, he didn't eat fish. I did better at school, had better grades, did better at assessment tests. At the age of 11, they ordered IQ tests and decided that the public school system was unable to handle someone of my abilities. Must have been the fish!
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
I used to take fish oil daily, but it was hard to tell if it had any benefits. Maybe I'll take up the habit again :)
Oh, just eat fish, It's delicious!
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
I do a few times a week!
Not fried I hope, not "fish nuggets". :nb) My mom used to make red snapper baked in white wine, flounder baked with lemon, we had fresh shrimp and crab. OMG I MISS THAT!
 
Generally speaking, salt water fish have more of the good types of fatty acids than freshwater fish.
Some of this is due to what they eat (you are what you eat). There are more of the good types of fatty acids in the salt water food chain. As I recall, this is because salt water algae produce more of these kinds of fatty acids which then get passed up the food chain. A lot of fresh water fish get fatty acids of terrestrial origin (which fall into the water in things like insect body which the fish eat) rather then from algae.

These fatty acids are also beneficial for fish (both salt and freshwater), resulting in better egg quality, better survival of fry, and better growth among other things.
 
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Okay. We seem to be getting some, um, "fuzz" here.
https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/71/7/1885/668208

This paper explains that the main synthesizers of DHA and EPA are tiny beasties in marine phytoplankton - from bacteria on up to very small invertebrates. So marine fish near the top of the food chain have resident DHA and EPA in their lipid makeup. Made by "somebody else". Fresh water fish have very low levels of DHA compared to marine or anadromous species of fish.

There are no terrestrial mammals and, AFAIK, no terrestrial protists that synthesize DHA de novo. Instead, lots of plants species create the primary ω-3 precursor α-linolenic acid (ALA) for all of the ω-3 fatty acids that do exist in terrestrial animals. Animals subsequently synthesize DHA and EPA, et al, from plant sources of ALA.

Human example: Flaxseed oil is really high in ALA. The downside is that humans have a very poor "rate of return" - our rate of synthesis into DHA and EPA is about 15%. So, a tablespoon of flax seed oil in your salad dressing which has about 7.25g of ALA -> ~1.1g (EPA + DHA) -> DHA gets the shorter end of the stick: less than 0.5 g because DHA synthesis shares some biosynthetic pathways with EPA but EPA has a higher precedence. But don't feel bad - EPA is involved in a big ol' mess (a new special technical term) of other pathways, inflammation responses being main ones.

This is why eating 3oz of broiled salmon (with 1.5g of DHA) is considered to be what you need for 3 days. The RDI for DHA is about 500mg.

BTW: the term for flax seed oil you probably know is the other common name - linseed oil. You CANNOT eat store bought linseed oil, it usually contains zirconium-based wood finish driers. Drying oil is the term for these kinds of plant oils that can be used as a pigment substrate for artists. Leonardo da Vinci was one who used linseed oil. http://www.masterpigments.com/categories/pigments/lapis-lazuli-pigments.html (lapis example pigment)

http://www.sinopia.com/ great resource for pigments, milk paint, binders, driers.
 
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