A Year of Science
Dear reader, from Fats of Life we wish you Happy Holidays! Another year comes to a close. Hundreds of new studies on polyunsaturated fatty acids have appeared this past year. In this issue of the Fats of Life Newsletter we highlight just four recent studies, nearly drops in the ocean of newly gathered knowledge on these special molecules. But the few selected studies have provided some fundamental new insight in their respective specialist areas. By providing you some additional background and literature on each topic, we hope the reach and limits of each study become more clear. In this issue, some focus is taken on the brain and on cognition, with one study addressing the hypothesis that omega-3 LCPUFA intake during pregnancy and around birth may impact the programming of future dietary behavior in the offspring. A controlled intervention study has addressed the potential benefit people with chronic migraine may receive from daily EPA/DHA intake for 2 months. Not to forget, we highlight a study that has found evidence that DHA may in fact be the substrate for memory formation. Lastly, a new function of the hemostatic response has been discovered, in which EPA, DHA and arachidonic acid are clearly involved. Without giving away the conclusions of each study here, we hope you will learn something new. And for those of you who read the articles closely, you may even discover some music! Gerard Bannenberg, Editor