Emily Chan
If you want to keep your brain sharp, try adding fish to your plate! Eating fish can help maintain your memory muscles and fend off cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
As global life expectancy increases, so do the cases of age-related health issues. By 2050, cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease worldwide are projected to be triple the amount they are now.
Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to identify the factors that can prevent cognitive decline. Diet is one of the factors that researchers have been looking into over the past few years.
“We all know too well the impact of diet on cardio-metabolic health and certain types of cancer. The relationship between diet and brain health is far less clear, although there is plenty of evidence suggesting that what and how we eat influences our mental well-being,” said Giuseppe Grosso, a co-author of the study and a professor in human nutrition at the University of Catania.
Fish has long been thought to benefit brain health since it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other important nutrients.
Omega-3s have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may protect the brain from damage caused by aging.
Previous studies have indicated that eating fish correlates to a decreased risk of neurodegenerative diseases, but the evidence has been inconsistent.
The goal of the new study was to clarify the current evidence on the link between fish consumption and cognitive decline.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis, which is a type of study that involves examining data from multiple studies to determine overall trends.
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