Now that you’ve taken the first step toward boosting your child’s brain health with essential fats, it’s time to meet the superstars behind it all – your child’s “Brain Makers.”
There are three fundamental nutrient requirements for building both a brain cell membrane, and the connections between brain cells, which is how the brain communicates across this vast network.
These three, fundamental ‘brain makers’ are:
• The omega-3 fat called DHA (docosahexanoic acid)
• Phospholipids (the main one is called phosphatidyl choline)
• B vitamins (required for methylation)
Think of these nutrients as the ‘builders and electricians’ helping assemble and connect brain cells enabling all of our communication pathways!
Please read the Report ‘The Brain Makers’ in the COGNITION Library.
Why It Matters:
✔ The whole origin of the brain and the first rudimentary nervous system happened in the ocean: tiny organisms used omega-3 DHA to convert solar energy into the first nerve twitch!
✔ Emerging research suggests that our human evolution is entirely a product of a sub-species of ape from which we originate by exploiting the water’s edge of rivers, estuaries, swamplands, and wetlands. These environments offered easy access to marine foods incredibly rich in DHA (an essential omega-3 fat for brain growth), phospholipids, and B vitamins, especially vitamin B12. These nutrients were critical in fuelling the rapid brain development that made Homo sapiens who we are today.
✔ Even today, we can observe the benefits of a marine-based lifestyle in cultures like the Moken and Bajau sea nomads in the Indonesian Ocean. These communities live closely with the ocean, spending up to 5 hours in the water daily, giving birth in the sea and introducing their children to nutrient-rich foods like seaweed when weaning. Like dolphins, their remarkable breath-holding abilities and adaptation to the aquatic environment show just how closely connected humans once were to life at the water’s edge.
✔ Interestingly, when humans began shifting away from marine-rich diets around 10,000 years ago—relying more on land-based agriculture—average brain size decreased from around 1.7kg to today’s 1.35kg. At the same time, modern challenges like rising rates of mental health issues and neurodivergence, and even a gradual decline in IQ, have become more common.
While we can’t go back in time, we can take steps today to give our children the best possible nutritional foundation for brain development—starting with the kinds of nutrients we know supported our evolution in the first place.
Please watch this short interview with Professor Michael Crawford: Marine Foods and Omega-3 Made us Human
In the next email, we’ll let you know what nutrients your child needs to take in, from seafood and/or supplements, to have a super healthy brain, at least as good as our ‘swampy’ semi-aquatic ancestors.
📌 Next email: The best fish for your child’s brain
Wishing you and your child the best of health and happiness,
The COGNITION for Smart Kids & Teens Team