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Summary:
A diet rich in fatty fish
reduces risk of mental
health problems.
Being a fathead is a good
thing to be. The more
researchers look, the more
they find that a diet rich
in fatty fish reduces the
risk of cognitive decline
and dementia commonly
associated with aging.
The same kind of diet has
similar benefits against the
risk of cardiovascular
disease. What saves the
blood supply to your heart
also seems to save the
all-important blood supply
to your brain.
The newest evidence comes
from a study of over 1,600
people aged 45 to 70 who
took a battery of sensitive
tests concerning memory and
mental performance. The
researchers also kept tabs
on their food consumptions.
The risk of cognitive
decline was greatest among
those who had the lowest
dietary intake of
unsaturated fatty acids
coming from marine sources.
The two primary fatty acids
found in fish and seaweed
are ECA (eicospentaenoic
acid) and DHA (docosapentaenoic
acid), collectively known as
omega-3 fats.
Cognitive tests were normal
in 1,450 people and impaired
in 163. The more fish people
ate, the greater their
overall cognitive function
and speed of responses.
Compared with those with
normal cognitive function,
those who showed impairment
were slightly older (59.4
years of age versus 56.2),
more likely to be male, to
have a history of
cardiovascular disease, and
to be less well educated.
The same study also showed
that when people consumed a
large amount of cholesterol
in their diet, the more they
were likely to have impaired
memory and flexibility.
Eating saturated fat also
increased the risk of
impaired memory, slower
speed and less flexibility
of mental function.
 It’s
not clear exactly how
omega-3 fats preserve
cognitive functions. Fats
are a key component of nerve
cell membranes and the
insulating sheath around the
nerve-cell fibers that
transmit signals in the
brain.
It could be omega-3 fats
save the brain by preserving
blood flow through its tiny
blood vessels. Those fats
seem to reduce inflammation
in blood vessels of the
brain. Inflammation has come
under increasing scrutiny
for its role in leading to
atherosclerosis, or the
clogging of arteries.
It’s also possible that the
omega-3s preserve mental
function by direct effects n
nerve cells. They help
maintain the fluidity of
nerve cell membranes,
important gatekeepers in all
brain actions. In addition,
by insulating nerve fibers,
omega-3s could preserve the
channels of transmission of
nerve signals from cell to
cell. It’s likely that
omega-3s contribute to
mental function through
effects on all those
processes.
Article courtesy of
www.psychologytoday.com
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