Will fish help me regain my sanity???

October 11, 2005

Eating fish regularly delays dementia

(Reuters)

Updated: 2005-10-11 09:03

Eating fish at least once a week slows the toll aging takes on the

brain, while obesity at midlife doubles the risk of dementia, a pair

of studies concluded on Monday.

Omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish have been shown to boost brain

functioning as well as cutting the risk of stroke, and eating fish

regularly appears to protect the brain as people age, the six-year

study of Chicago residents said.

" The rate of (mental) decline was reduced by 10 percent to 13

percent per year among persons who consumed one or more fish meals

per week compared with those with less than weekly consumption, "

wrote Martha Clare of Rush University Medical Center in

Chicago.

" The rate reduction is the equivalent of being three to four years

younger in age, " she added in the report published online by the

Archives of Neurology.

The protective effect from eating fish was evident even after

researchers adjusted for consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia are growing

problems around the world, particularly in developed countries with

aging populations.

In another study published in the same journal, Swedish researchers

from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm concluded that obesity,

high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels at midlife each

doubled the risk of dementia later in life.

Subjects who suffered from all three of the health problems at

midlife multiplied their risk of developing dementia six times

compared to people free of the risk factors, she said.

Nearly 1,500 subjects who have been part of a study that began in

1972 were reexamined. The 16 percent who were obese at midlife were

at double the risk of dementia compared to the one-quarter of those

with normal weight at midlife and the half who had been slightly

overweight.

" Midlife obesity, high systolic blood pressure, and high total

cholesterol were all significant risk factors for dementia, each of

them increasing the risk around two times, " study author Miia

Kivipelto wrote.

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