Fish is Brain Food But Fish Oil Supplement Offers No Benefit: Study

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Another study confirms the health benefits of eating fish to the brain. The new study suggests that fish is an efficient food to boost brain health.

A new study published in JAMA answers the questions if fish is indeed good for the brain, Forbes reported. Eating fish regularly is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. This benefit remains despite reports that people who ate more fish have higher levels of mercury in their brain.

Per the report, the level of mercury is too low to induce harm and the number of benefits they enjoy from eating fish outweighs the risks.

Martha Clare Morris and her colleagues at Rush Medical Center examined 554 Chicago residents, who were all part of a long-term aging study and died over a ten-year period. The researchers conducted autopsies to directly probe their brain for physiological changes such as neuritic plagues, which are signs of Alzheimer's or other disease.

They used the questionnaire data that they collected from everyone in the study to measure how much fish those individuals consumed. This might be an imperfect way to measure the eating habits but it was the only practical way to gather the information.

The researchers found out that people who ate seafood at least once a week had lower level of physiological signs of Alzheimer's. None of the people in the study had dementia when they enrolled for it in 1997. Eating fish seems to counteract the effects of the harmful genetic mutation.

However, bad news for those who do not eat fish and rely on fish oil supplements instead as the scientists claimed that it has no health benefits. "Fish oil supplementation had no statistically significant correlation with any neuropathologic marker," they wrote. They are encouraging the people to eat fish instead.

According to Board Bia, fish has been described as "brain food" traditionally. However, the claim was just dismissed as an "old wives tale."

Per the report, the large part of the brain is made of omega-3 fats. These fats are vital for a healthy brain function. Sixty percent of the fats in the brain are omega-3 with DHA, a type of fat found in fish.

Omega-3 fats are important for brain development. In fact, they are automatically added to baby milk formula. Pregnant women are also encouraged to eat two servings of fish every week to boosts the brain cells of their babies.

The new study is not the first to show a positive relationship between eating fish and boosting brain health. In fact, the authors cite 13 previous studies. However, it is the first one to include the mercury levels, brain changes associated with Alzheimer's and diet in one study.