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Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Research shows people with higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may also have larger brain volumes in old age and may prevent Alzheimer's
Eating more fish could give you a bigger brain - and greater protection against diseases such as Alzheimer’s, claim researchers. They found people with higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may also have larger brain volumes in old age. This would be the equivalent to preserving one to two years of brain health, says a new study published in the journal Neurology. Shrinking brain volume is a sign of Alzheimer’s disease as well as normal aging. Britons are currently advised to eat fish at least twice a week, including one portion of oily fish. One of the key omega-3 fatty acids is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is thought to help nerve cells communicate with each other. The richest source of the nutrient is oily fish, such as herring, mackerel and sardines. For the US study, levels of omega-3 fatty acids including DHA in red blood cells were tested in 1,111 women who were part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study. Eight years later, when the women were aged around 78, MRI scans were taken to measure their brain volume. Those with higher levels of omega-3s had larger total brain volumes eight years later. Those with twice as high levels of fatty acids (7.5 vs. 3.4 per cent) had a 0.7 per cent larger brain volume, with the increase measuring up to two inches (6cm). Study author James Pottala, of the University of South Dakota in Sioux Falls and Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc. in Richmond, Virginia, said lower levels of fatty acids were linked to smaller-sized brains. He said: ‘These higher levels of fatty acids can be achieved through diet and the use of supplements, and the results suggest that the effect on brain volume is the equivalent of delaying the normal loss of brain cells that comes with aging by one to two years.’ Those with higher levels of omega-3s also had a 2.7 per cent larger volume in the hippocampus area, the brain’s key memory centre. READ MORE |