Southlake Texas Chiropractor Dr. Jennifer Beights serving Southlake, Keller, Grapevine, Roanoke, Westlake, Bedford, Hurst

This just in…fat on your hips is better for your brain! I read a new research article today that suggests that women with an hourglass figure may on average be brighter and have more clever children. One possible reason is the greater percentage of omega 3 fats found on the hips. The study examined 16,000 women and girls, and found that women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on cognitive tests, as did their children. Those with a waist-to-hip ratio between 0.6 and 0.7 achieved the highest scores. Fat around hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega 3 fats, which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may have higher levels of omega 6 fats acids, which are less well suited to brain growth. Sources of your omega 3’s which you must receive from nutrition because your body doesn’t produce them are fish, flax seed, and walnuts. While on the subject of fats, do you know the best oils to cook with? I would only have two in my kitchen. Probably the most well know would be extra virgin olive oil. Another one that is even better than that is coconut oil. I’ve been hearing about coconut oil for a little while but just now started using it. When looking for oils, you want to have saturated fats. Saturated fats don’t have any double bonds in them and therefore are easy for your body to reuse. Unsaturated and trans fats are not easy to break down and your body ends up storing them instead of utilizing the free energy. Coconut oil is also high in omega 3’s. Corn, sunflower, safflower and vegetable oils are high in omega 6’s and not helpful.

- Dr. Jennifer Beights