(17-01-12) Regular fish consumption lowers risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

by John Phillip


(NaturalNews) Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found that people
who eat baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis may be improving their brain
health and lowering their risk of developing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
and Alzheimer's disease. The results, released at the annual meeting of the
Radiological Society of North America established a direct relationship between
fish consumption, brain structure and Alzheimer's risk. The study determined
that eating baked or broiled fish once per week led to better preservation of
gray matter volume on MRI scans in brain areas at risk for Alzheimer's disease.
Health-minded people may be able to dramatically lower the risk of developing
this most feared memory-robbing illness.

Dr. Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his team developed a
cohort of 260 cognitively normal individuals. Information on fish consumption
was gathered using the National Cancer Institute Food Frequency Questionnaire.
163 participants consumed fish on a weekly basis, and the majority ate fish one
to four times per week.

Regular Fish Consumption Preserves Brain Volume and Cognitive Function
Each subject was examined using a 3-D volumetric MRI scan of the brain to
measure gray matter volume. The test was used to model the relationship between
weekly fish consumption at baseline and brain structure after a period of ten
years. Data was then analyzed to determine if gray matter volume preservation
associated with fish consumption reduced the risk for Alzheimer's disease. The
study controlled for age, gender, education, race, obesity and physical
activity.

The findings showed that consumption of baked or broiled fish on a weekly
basis was positively associated with gray matter volumes in several areas of
the brain. Higher grey matter brain volume correlates with increased cognitive
function and is commonly used to determine progression of degenerative
conditions such as Alzheimer's. Maintaining grey matter volume over a five-year
period lowers risk of Alzheimer's disease by five-fold.

Dr. Raji concluded: "Consuming baked or broiled fish promotes stronger neurons
in the brain's gray matter by making them larger and healthier... this simple
lifestyle choice increases the brain's resistance to Alzheimer's disease and
lowers risk for the disorder." Eating fatty fish at least once per week
(preferably at several meals) improves working memory and allows people to
focus on tasks that commit information to short-term memory, thus improving
cognitive function and lowering the risk from Alzheimer's disease.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.upmc.com/MediaRelations/...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/rel...

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