Friday, December 05, 2008

For a more powerful brain -

Have a baby!

I saw this on Oprah the other day and I thought it was fascinating.

Jennifer, a mom from Wayne, New Jersey, says she began noticing differences in the way her brain worked after giving birth to a baby boy. Dr. Oz says this is a real condition known as "mommy brain." Dr. Oz says Jennifer's son, Benjamin, used up a lot of her omega-3 fats while he was in the womb. "Eighty percent of our brains are fat," he says. "So the baby sucks up a lot of that vital nutrient, sometimes potentially to the detriment of the mother." During pregnancy, Dr. Oz says a woman's brain also shrinks by about 8 percent. "You don't lose cells. The cells get smaller," he says. "It might be because you're focused on one thing, but the good news is after you give birth, your brain begins to rewire quickly. … Your brain actually gets more powerful than before you got pregnant."To combat "mommy brain," Dr. Oz recommends taking omega-3 fatty acids and getting plenty of sleep. "[Omega-3 is] important because we know that it actually allows women to recover from depression faster if they have depression after pregnancy," he says. "It also allows the brain to grow."

Sleep and Omega 3 fatty acids - do it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have her book if you want to borrow it... very interesting. I didn't get all the way through it because at one point I was just like "yeah - I got it. I've lived it...you don't have to convince me." But it was interesting.
Alli

amo said...

wow. That is fascinating.