Fish Reduces Alzheimer's Risk

Regularly eating baked or broiled fish can help preserve brain power, according to new study

by: Nissa Simon | from: AARP Bulletin | November 30, 2011
Chalk up another win for fish as brain food.

People who eat baked or broiled fish at least once a week may improve their brain health and cut the risk of developing memory problems or Alzheimer's disease, according to a study presented today at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago.

Eating baked or broiled fish - not fried - weekly may improve brain health and reduce the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease - image of raw fish

Research shows that eating baked or broiled fish can reduce risk of Alzheimer's.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh selected the records of 260 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study who were in their mid-70s and who had no problems with memory, thinking or reasoning. The researchers then looked at fish consumption and found that 163 of these men and women ate fish regularly, with the majority of them including it in their meals one to four times a week.

Ten years later, three-dimensional MRI brain scans were obtained for each participant. The researchers then did a brain mapping analysis on these scans that measured gray matter, which is crucial to brain health. "This is a mathematical way of understanding the influence of fish intake on the brain," says Cyrus Raji, M.D., the lead author.

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