What helps to boost learning?

It all starts with the hippocampus. Your hippocampus is the structure in your brain that has to do with learning and spatial memory. The omega-3 fatty acid called DHA makes up 20% of your brain’s grey matter (including your hippocampus).

DHA also helps…

• Support your retina

• Lower oxidative stress/acts as an antioxidant

• Reduce inflammation

• Increase BDNF (this helps your brain grow)

• Boost the volume of the hippocampus

As you age, the structure of your hippocampus shrinks. In turn, this can affect your ability to learn and maintain spatial memory. If you’re DHA deficient, your hippocampus will get even smaller. Taking omega-3 fatty acids can greatly benefit the hippocampus and improve your ability to learn. DHA is involved with the synapses—these allow communication between neurons. Low levels of DHA can even cause ADHD and dyslexia. The brain and retinas depend on DHA.

If an infant is not breastfed, the makeup of their retina may be abnormal due to low levels of DHA. In fact, DHA can even influence a child’s IQ.

The best sources of DHA are:

• Fatty fish

• Cod liver oil

• Algae