Is Fat On Your Hips Better for Your Brain than Fat On Your Belly?

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Is Fat On Your Hips Better for Your Brain than Fat On

Your Belly?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1/24/is-fat-on-your-hips\

-better-for-your-brain-than-fat-on-your-belly.aspx

New research suggests that women with an hourglass

figure may on average be brighter and have more clever

children.

A study found that women with large hips and small

waists tend to be more intelligent than those with

either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies. Such women may

also tend to give birth to more intelligent children.

One possible reason is the greater percentage of omega

3 fats found on the hips.

The study examined 16,000 women and girls, and found

that women with a greater difference between the waist

and hips scored significantly higher on cognitive

tests, as did their children. Those with a

waist-to-hip ratio between 0.6 and 0.7 achieved the

highest scores.

Fat around hips and thighs holds higher levels of

omega 3 fats, which are essential for the growth of

the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may

have higher levels of omega 6 fats acids, which are

less well suited to brain growth. Waist fat is also

more likely to be a contributory factor in diabetes

and heart disease.

Sources:

Times Online November 11, 2007

Evolution and Human Behavior January 2008 Volume 29,

Issue 1, Pages 26-34

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Having a good waist-to-hip ratio is also better for

your carotid arteries, which transport blood directly

to your brain, and lowers your risk of a heart attack.

In fact, it’s a better predictor of your chances of

developing a heart attack than your overall weight. It

had been theorized that a good waist-to-hip ratio was

a marker of overall muscle mass; now it looks like the

answer may be omega 3 fats.

Of course, it has long been known that omega 3’s have

an effect on intelligence This is hardly surprising,

since they are significant structural components of

the cell membranes of your brain, as well as the

retina, sperm, and other tissues throughout your body.

Your brain is actually 60 percent structural fat, and

an omega 3 deficiency can decrease membrane fluidity,

which is essential for proper functioning of these

tissues.

It is especially critical that infants receive

adequate amounts of omega 3’s during fetal

development, as well as after birth, until the

biochemical development in the brain and retina is

completed. Formula-fed infants have lower

concentrations of omega 3’s in their brain than

infants fed omega 3-rich human breast milk. They also

have lower intelligence quotients.

And during pregnancy, both maternal stores and dietary

intake of omega-3 fatty acids are important to insure

that the baby has adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty

acids at the time of birth. Several studies have shown

that when the maternal diet is deficient in omega-3

fatty acids, the infant at birth is likewise

deficient.

But omega 3’s are not just crucial for pregnant women

and their children; as the recent study above shows,

your omega 3 levels affect you throughout your life,

preserving your brain function as well as protecting

you from cardiac risks and other problems.

But generally, most diets contain not only far too

little omega 3, but far too much omega 6 fats. The

ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats has increased in

industrialized societies because of increased

consumption of vegetable oils. Experts suggest that in

early human history the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3

fatty acids was about 1:1. Currently most Americans

eat a dietary ratio that falls between 20:1 and 50:1.

I strongly recommend avoiding conventional sources of

omega-6 fats such as sunflower, corn, soy, safflower,

and canola oil, and products that contain these oils.

This also means no hydrogenated or partially

hydrogenated fats, no margarine, no vegetable oil, and

no shortening. These oils are mostly omega 6 fats and

will only worsen your omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. It is

not that they are at all toxic, although one might

make an argument for those that are produced from GM

foods, but the central issue is that if you are

already consuming 10-20 times as much as you need any

additional amounts of these fats will only worsen the

problem.

Acceptable oils include high-quality extra virgin

olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and organic

butter... or better yet, grass-fed organic butter.

In addition to reducing your omega 6 intake, you will

want to increase your omega 3 intake. Fatty fish would

be the best source of omega 3, but unfortunately too

many of them are tainted by deadly mercury. So I

highly recommend taking krill oil as a good

substitute.

In addition to making you smarter, it could also make

you better looking!

Related Articles:

Importance of Omega Three Fats in Health and Disease

Omega-3 is Essential to the Human Body

We Eat Far Too Many Polyunsaturated Fats in the US

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