JULIA EWAN * Washington Post

Omega-3 fatty acids are prized for protecting the heart, and they may be helpful in preventing complications of diabetes and in soothing the inflamed joints of arthritis. What if omega-3 fatty acids also could treat your brain? Here, mungo beans are omega-3 wonders.By Sally Squires ~ The Washington Post

They occur naturally in fish, flaxseed, canola oil, nuts and avocados. They're also extracted, packaged and sold in dozens of dietary supplements. Increasingly, they even show up on grocery shelves as the latest fortification in such popular fare as bread, eggs, dairy products, margarine, baby food and cereal.

Omega-3 fatty acids are already prized by cardiologists for protecting the heart against the inflammation that can lead to blocked arteries and for thwarting an irregular, often fatal, heartbeat. There's growing evidence that these polyunsaturated fats may also be helpful in preventing complications of diabetes and in soothing the inflamed joints of arthritis.

Now psychiatrists are also taking a closer look. Omega-3s, dubbed the "happy" fats in some quarters, are under investigation for treating depression, bipolar disease, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease and even the so-called baby blues, or postpartum depression. Earlier this year, the American Psychiatric Association formed a committee to review the findings to make treatment recommendations for the use of omega-3s.

What makes this emerging science particularly intriguing is that the evidence for the fats' various benefits comes from several types of research: population studies, clinical trials and basic neurochemistry.

"Not only are the data consistent in those areas, but they are very robust," says Joseph R. Hibbeln, chief of the outpatient clinic at the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in Bethesda, Md.

And since there are few if any side effects to eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, there's little downside to investigating these healthy fats -- and a lot to be gained. Fish, and even fish oil dietary supplements, are far cheaper than most prescription medications. Plus, there's the hope that omega-3s may help bridge the treatment gap in mental disorders -- up to 30 percent of people being treated for depression, for example, find drugs inadequate in controlling their symptoms.

The idea that omega-3 fatty acids might help treat mental disorders dawned on Hibbeln in 1984 when he was standing in an anatomy lab.

"I had cut open the brain, and it just very much struck me that it is mostly fat," he says. "The biochemistry of fat and lipids just seemed to be very unexplored in psychiatric disorders and that seemed odd because there are many profound neurological disorders that are known to be caused by lipid problems."

It's well recognized, for example, that multiple sclerosis damages the fatty myelin sheaths of nerve cells. Another neurological disorder, Gaucher's disease, results from the buildup of harmful fatty substances in cells, and a whole class of neurological disorders called leukodystrophies are caused by flawed development or maintenance of the fatty myelin in nerve cells.

Essential fatty acids are fats that can't be produced by the body but are required for good health. They play key roles in the structure of brain cells and of the eye, particularly the retina. They're vital for each neuron's membrane, both its outer protection and its means of accessing key nutrients. And it is these essential fats that regulate the growth of long tendrils called axons that enable neurons to communicate with each other.

Oddly enough, while the body can manufacture saturated fat, cholesterol and even some unsaturated fat -- it is incapable of producing two of the fatty acids that are most vital. One is an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha linolenic acid, which is found in fish, canola oil and flaxseed. The other is an omega-6 fatty acid with the maddeningly similar name of linoleic acid, which is found in soybean, safflower and corn oils.

OMEGA-3 SOURCES

Naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids, known to protect against heart disease, may be tied to even broader health benefits, intriguing new studies suggest. Fish is the best source of the polyunsaturated fats, but every group in the USDA's food pyramid contains them. Some of the best sources are listed first.Fats/Sweets

Best: Canola, flaxseed. Also light ice cream, mayonnaise, olive oil, flan, some margarines.Dairy

Best: Gouda, Parmesan, Romano cheese, Roquefort. Also Port de Salut, fontina; pasteurized Swiss, feta, low-fat milk.Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, nuts, eggs

Best: Mungo beans (also called urid); fish and other seafood, especially herring, sardines, bluefish, salmon, mackerel, anchovy, tuna, gefiltefish, oysters, whiting and halibut. Also kidney beans, eggs, lamb, ham, macadamia nuts.Vegetables

Best: Grape leaves, spinach, wakame (seaweed). Also cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, Boston and butterhead lettuce, arugula. Fruit

Best: Melon (cantaloupe, casaba, honeydew), cherries. Also papaya, mango, litchis, bananas, blackberries.Bread, pasta, rice, grains

Best: Flax, wild rice. Also Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, tapioca, arrowroot flour, white and long grain rice, rice cereals, soba noodles, oat bran bread, gingerbread.

SOURCE:The Washington Post