Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life

lipids
and are specifi cally a family of lipids that are 
called
fatty acids
. Fatty acids serve many critical functions, and if 
you don ’ t get enough of the right fatty acids, your brain will not 
function optimally. 
There are two fatty acids that are considered essential:
linoleic 
acid
(LA) and
alpha - linolenic acid
(ALA). Essential fatty acids can-
not be made by the body; you must consume them in your diet. LA 
is an omega - 6 fatty acid that is contained in vegetable oils, such as 
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saffl ower, sunfl ower, corn, and sesame oil. ALA is found in walnuts, 
fl axseed, and green leafy vegetables. You need to eat both LA and 
ALA; one cannot produce the other. 
A single neuron can make an average of ten thousand synaptic 
connections with other neurons. Neuroplasticity is dependent on 
changing your thoughts and your behavior and on the health of your 
synapses, and the health of your synapses depends on getting the 
right fats. 
The synaptic membrane has a higher concentration of
doco-
sahexaenoic acid
(DHA) than most tissues in your body. DHA is 
an omega - 3 fatty acid found in salmon, mackerel, sardines, her-
ring, anchovies, and bluefi sh. If you have defi ciencies in DHA, the 
integrity of your synaptic membranes will be impaired; at best, your 
neurons will not function well, and at worst, they will die. 
DHA is critical in keeping cell membranes soft and fl exible. 
Saturated fats, in contrast, make cell membranes rigid. This difference 
has profound consequences. DHA is important for holding receptors 
(cells that receive stimuli) in place. Soft and fl exible membranes are 
capable of alternating the shapes of the receptors, which is essential 
in order for the neurotransmitters to lock into place. If the receptor 
is made of rigid or hard fat, however, the receptor is immobilized —
unable to wiggle or expand to let the neurotransmitter lock into place. 
Consequently, the interaction between neurons is short - circuited or 
interrupted. This means that your brain has trouble transmitting infor-
mation between neurons and developing neuroplasticity. 
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found a 
positive relationship between the omega - 3 fatty acid DHA and the 
level of serotonin. The higher the DHA, the higher the serotonin 
(Hibbelin, 1998). When the fat composition of cell membranes 
changes, this alters the actions of critical enzymes. For example, 
essential fatty acids are involved in the conversion of L - tryptophan 
to serotonin and the control of its breakdown. The body uses DHA to 
manufacture more synapses with more nerve endings, which in turn 
produce more serotonin. This makes DHA important in maintain-
ing a stable and positive mood. DHA also plays a role in preventing 
cognitive decline, especially Alzheimer ’ s disease. 
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Eicosapentaeonoic acid
(EPA), one of the active ingredients in 
omega - 3 fatty acids, has been associated with support for the activi-
ties of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, and it 
therefore helps with mood regulation. EPA is found throughout your 
body, but, unlike DHA, it is not found in the brain in signifi cant 
amounts. It is found in the same foods that are a source of DHA, 
but in higher amounts. It plays a role in helping the fl ow of blood in 
your brain, infl uencing infl ammation, blood clotting, blood vessel 
activity, and blood supply. 
Another way that essential fatty acids help the brain is to facilitate 
what is called the