Contents
Eating fish regularly significantly reduces the risk of developing dementia and other cognitive disorders, in particular Alzheimer’s disease. To explain why this happens, the researchers can not yet.
Regular consumption of fish plays a very important role in the prevention of cognitive disorders and, in particular, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. This was stated by a group of specialists from California State University in Los Angeles, led by Cyrus Raji, MD, M.D.*. Scientists studied the lifestyle and food preferences of a large group of older Americans. It turned out that regular (at least once a week) eating fish has an extremely positive effect on brain structures. The volume of gray matter in the brain structures responsible for memory and cognition was higher in participants who ate fish than in their peers who did not have such a habit. Thus, the volume of the hippocampus (brain area responsible, among other things, for translating information from short-term memory into long-term memory) in fish lovers was 1% higher. And the volume of the orbitofrontal cortex (which is in charge of complex cognitive activity) – by 14%.
“Even 4% is very serious,” commented Cyrus Raji** on the results of the study. “I don’t know of any medicine that could give the same effect. And 14% is just a very large figure. The stronger the hippocampus, the lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.”
Read more:
- Senile dementia and emotional warmth
Initially, scientists assumed that this beneficial effect is due to the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in fish oil. Several previous studies have already established a link between the use of omega-3 acids and the slowing down of the process of atrophy of brain structures. However, a blood test from the participants in the study of Dr. Raja and his colleagues did not confirm this conjecture: the level of omega-3 acids did not correlate in any way with the volume of brain structures responsible for memory and cognitive processes.
Read more:
- Nursing home – or “Truman show”?
Scientists are not able to explain what else can cause such a positive effect of fish on the brain. They are committed to further study of this topic: neurologists estimate that the number of people suffering from dementia is doubling every 20 years. So far, they can only assert three facts with certainty. First, fish is good for the brain and can prevent the development of cognitive disorders. Second: it doesn’t matter what kind of fish you eat. And third: the method of preparation is fundamentally important. Baked or grilled fish clearly has health benefits. But fish fried in a pan – alas, no. The study participants who ate such fish did not show any positive changes in brain structures.
* See American Journal of Preventive Medicine, ajpmonline.org for details.
**theatlantic.com