“Dr. Hyman, I’ve heard so much contradictory information about omega 3 fats,” writes this week’s house call. “Some studies show they help everything while others argue they don’t do much of anything. What’s the real story here?”

As I often say, food is information, not just calories. Food influences gene function, hormones, your immune system and even your gut flora. Literally, food controls every function within your body.

This is especially true with the omega-3 fatty acids found in foods like wild fish, flaxseeds and walnuts.

These fatty acids play critical roles in cognitive development and learning, visual development, immune strength, fighting inflammation, pregnancy, brain health, and preventing Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, cancer, mental illness and so much more. They affect every one of your hundred trillion cell membranes.