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The American Heart Association Scientific Advisory

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In 2009, the American Heart Association scientific advisory concluded that obtaining at least five to ten percent of total caloric intake from ɳ-3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) was associated with a thirteen percent lower risk of coronary risk (“Essential”). A 2011 analysis of seven-hundred showed supplementation with ɳ-3 fatty acids lowered blood levels of homocysteine, a byproduct of protein metabolism, which damages the epithelium and increases the risks of cognitive decline (Sears 51). Likewise, a 2012 meta-analysis of seven randomized control trials (RCTs) estimated that a ten percent reduction in coronary heart disease was linked to each five percent energy increase in PUFA consumption (“Essential”).
Furthermore, results of …show more content…

Interestingly, among numerous genes examined in rats, ɳ-3 deficiency changed the expression of multiple genes in offspring (Tribole, 86).
Effects on Brain Development In addition to the cardiovascular system, ɳ-3 fatty acids are important for brain development and function. The brain, one of the most vascular organs of the body, is composed sixty percent of fat. It requires ɳ-3 fatty acids to make flexible and fluid multitasking responses (Sears 62). Research indicates that people with the highest blood levels of ɳ-3 DHA had best brain performances and higher brain test scores (Bauer). Brain analysis indicated that people with various nerve diseases, including multiple sclerosis and macular degeneration, consumed high amounts of ɳ-6 fats, but low amounts of ɳ-3 fats. Consuming sufficient amounts of ɳ-3 fatty acids make the three important brain structures healthier: brain cells (neurons), nerves extending from neurons (axons), and connections at the end of neurons (synapses) (Sears 64). The significance of ɳ-3 fats in neural development and function can be shown through the development of brains in infants. These fats are vital to the formation of the brain’s architecture since all neurons are formed before birth (Tribole 83). Before birth, all of the ɳ-3 that the baby accumulates is

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