Fish and nuts help the brain

The essential fats found in fish and nuts help more than your heart. They can also reduce memory loss and strokes..

"When we don't have enough omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in our system, it can lead to a heart attack or a stroke.

You're not getting enough oxygen to your brain, and you are overloading your heart," explains study author Vallie Holloway, a researcher at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

Two fatty acids the human body does not produce. Those two fatty acids, which are found in fish, nuts, seeds and some oils, are needed for a long list of body functions.

However, while the human body manufactures most of the fats it needs, it does not make these two elements, requiring people to get them from their diets.

A string of recent studies have linked these essential fats to healthy hearts and blood vessels, but Holloway's study also targeted the effects of one of them, omega-6, on brain function.