Omega-3 fatty acid = Desi cow ghee = Disorders free mind and brain.
This is how Mother Cow keeps her children sane and healthy.
The moment her prasad is out of regular food, disorders are expected to arrive at door-step. If not you, your next generation.
For other terrains, there are alternatives like nuts and fish but for us, living on grassland plains, ghee plays critical role as it is the only and critical source of fatty acids.
Researches says it that lower availability of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with bipolar disorder.
People with bipolar disorder have lower levels of certain omega-3 fatty acids that cross the blood-brain barrier than people who do not, according to researchers from Penn State College of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. The finding could have implications for dietary interventions for the disorder.
Fatty acids are a major area of interest in bipolar disorder and depression because of their biological importance to the brain. Studies have shown that fatty acid supplementation may be useful for unipolar depression, but the data has been more mixed for bipolar disorder.
The researchers, led by Erika Saunders, associate professor and chair of psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine, compared fatty acids in 27 people with symptomatic bipolar disorder and 31 healthy control subjects. The group measured levels of different forms of the polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6. They also collected self-reported information on fatty acid consumption and bipolar medication use. Their results were published in the journal Bipolar Disorders.
Free fatty acids are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, while fatty acids bound to proteins are not. In study subjects with bipolar disorder, the ratio of a free-circulating omega-3 fatty acid called EPA to bound EPA was lower than in other people.
“This means that the availability of omega-3 in the body is lower in bipolar subjects,” Saunders said.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a large component of brain-cell membranes and are important for cell-to-cell communication in the brain. In the study, the ratio of free to bound EPA correlated with clinical bipolar symptoms, specifically mania and tendency towards suicide.
Fatty acids also play an important role in the immune system and the inflammatory system.
“Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can shift the balance of inflammation, which we think is important in bipolar disorder,” Saunders said.
You can see, the good old "Desi Ghee" has more to it, than what meets the eye.