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4 HUMAN NEED
HUMAN NEED FOR EFAs
There is a theory as to why we humans particularly need this Essential Fatty Acid for our brain to work properly.
Dr Barry Sears, in his book: The Omega Rx Zone, HarperCollins 2002, gives an interesting explanation of the development of humans over millions of years. He reports that scientists using carbon dating and mitochondrial DNA testing are offering us new explanations.
They suggest, that about 150 000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, a mutation of Neanderthal man occurred. This change, especially from about 40 000 years ago, helped this new Cro-Magnon man become the top species on earth. Food supply was short and they had not yet developed effective hunting tools, so they resorted to Eating the molluscs from the East African Rift Valley lakes.
These molluscs had themselves “eaten” what we now know as the high Omega-3 algae in the lake. So, imbibing these new nutrients, the people, over many generations, developed their brains in a way that had not been done before in any earthly species. 
Quoting Dr Sears: “Throughout evolution, the size of the pre-human brain was steadily increasing. What uniquely characterizes modern humans, however, is their ability to think and to restructure their environment. To do so requires manipulation of sensory inputs into an action plan for improved survival. Before 150,000 years ago, our ancestors weren't very good at this. Modern humans, though, had an evolutionary advantage: a rapid increase in the size of the frontal cortex, where thinking and reasoning take place. The better your rational thinking, the more rapidly you can adapt to new environments and conditions. But if evolution usually takes so long, how were modern humans able to develop in the equivalent of a blink of an eye in evolutionary time?” [End of Sears quote.]
These new Homo Sapiens, became smarter and smarter and when they emigrated to the north, which was in the process of un-freezing, they took their appetite for molluscs and, by then, their liking for fish with them. From this story, (which could be true and we will follow it as more data becomes available), the human brain is what it is because of its EPA and DHA content. These molecules made our brains what they are and as such our brains need today these molecules to work properly. .jpg)
If you look at where human development has occurred, it has always been next to the sea or on big rivers where the supply of fish is assured. Recently, however, the whole process of industrialisation and its subsequent pollution has reversed the beneficial effect and we now have to resort to expensive procedures to obtain what our ancestors considered as part of their basic daily diet.
Dr Barry Sears, who has studied the effects of Omega-3 for many years, in his book referred to above, gives the three important factors which the brain needs to function properly: oxygen, a stable blood sugar supply and DHA. He says: “More than 60 percent of the weight of the brain is fat, and most of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the body are concentrated in the brain. Virtually all of this long-chain omega-3 fat, however, is in the form of DHA, since the brain contains very little EPA. One reason the brain demands such high levels of DHA is that it's critical for certain cell membranes such as the synapse (to transfer information), the retina (to receive visual inputs), and the mitochondria (to make ATP). Thus, the key brain cells can't perform at peak levels without adequate DHA in their membranes. .jpg)
“Trying to maintain your brain function without adequate DHA is like trying to build the sturdiest brick house in town without enough bricks. You might have the best architect, the best location, and the best contractor, but if you don't have enough bricks, the dream house will never be built properly. Without adequate DHA, your brain can't function adequately and can't form new neural connections, let alone maintain old ones.” [End of Sears quote.]
Here is a diagram of the plasma membrane of a brain cell. Very simply, it is built up of what look like little “tadpoles”, the tails facing in and the head facing out. (It reminds me of those car seat covers made of wooden beads strung together.) When there is sufficient DHA available, the “tadpoles” are “lubricated” and they allow nutrients to come in and toxins to be pushed out. We can imagine what it must be like if the “tadpoles” are not lubricated and are thus not flexible. The whole arrangement will not work properly.
Omega-3 Marine Supplements are required for two reasons:
The EFAs are “resourceful” molecules. They can modify themselves and convert to the more complex molecules by some mysterious process. However, this takes time and they say that it takes about 5 days for the human body to convert a basic Omega-3, Alpha-Linolenic acid molecule with 18 carbon bond connections to a DHA molecule with 22 connections.
As I have mentioned, some people have a faulty Delta 6 Desaturase enzyme which does not allow the conversion of the EFA to the higher level needed. (I am one of those.) Thus these people need the help of the algae and fish to do the processing for them in the same way that their stone-ancestors did. From other readings these are likely to be your ADD and ADHDers who need the marine oils in addition to the basic flax seed oils.
Our ancestors had eaten fatty fish such as mackerel, sardines, pilchards and tuna and thrived. They also were able to supplement this from natural sources such as flax seed oil. But nowadays there are problems. Some of us now cannot get the need long chain EPA and DHA from the plant sources. And the supply of fish is dwindling and often contains PCBs and mercury.
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