Over the past few years, I’ve written quite a bit about what seems like a campaign to discredit one of the most potent foods and dietary supplements there is. One that science shows really does work wonders…
I’m talking about fish oil and its omega-3 essential fatty acids.
There have been numerous recent studies claiming that fish oil is somehow not effective at preventing heart disease. But the basic problem, among others, was that many of these studies used fish oil or omega-3 doses that the researchers should have already known were way too low to show benefits (especially in smaller, limited studies).
But there’s finally some good news. A new study that uses a reasonable amount of omega-3s found that, in addition to heart benefits, these essential fatty acids show potential to keep memory intact as we age.1
The study analyzed 250 people with coronary artery disease, but without cognitive decline. This is important because this type of heart disease results in reduced blood flow in the arteries, which deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients. And that can lead to vascular dementia.
During a period of 30 months, half of the people in the study took 3.4 grams a day of the type of omega-3s found in fish oil—EPA and DHA—and half took a placebo.
Compared with the placebo group, those taking omega-3s had better coordination, memory, reaction time, and recall after one year, and still continued to improve after 30 months.
Prior studies analyzed the effects of omega-3 supplements on people who already had cognitive impairment or dementia. But this new study shows benefits to taking omega-3s to prevent the onset of cognitive decline.
You can get omega-3s by eating fatty fish like salmon. But very few people eat enough fish, which is why I recommend supplementing with 4 to 5 grams of a high-quality fish oil every day. Look for a product that contains 1,400 to 1,800 mg of EPA and 1,000 to 1,300 mg of DHA fatty acids.
Source:
1https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.140.suppl_1.10723