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Eating
fish, Omega-3 oils, fruits and veggies
lowers
risk of memory problems
Newswise — A diet rich in fish, omega-3
oils, fruits and vegetables may lower your
risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,
whereas consuming omega-6 rich oils could
increase chances of developing memory
problems, according to a study published in
the November 13, 2007, issue of Neurology®,
the medical journal of the American Academy
of Neurology.
For the study, researchers examined the
diets of 8,085 men and women over the age of
65 who did not have dementia at the
beginning of the study. Over four years of
follow-up, 183 of the participants developed
Alzheimer’s disease and 98 developed another
type of dementia.
The study found people who regularly
consumed omega-3 rich oils, such as canola
oil, flaxseed oil and walnut oil, reduced
their risk of dementia by 60 percent
compared to people who did not regularly
consume such oils.
People who ate fruits and
vegetables daily also reduced their risk of
dementia by 30 percent compared to those who
didn’t regularly eat fruits and vegetables.
The study also found people who ate fish at
least once a week had a 35-percent lower
risk of Alzheimer’s disease and 40-percent
lower risk of dementia, but only if they did
not carry the gene that increases the risk
of Alzheimer’s, called apolipoprotein E4, or
ApoE4.
“Given that most people do not carry the
ApoE4 gene, these results could have
considerable implications in terms of public
health,” said study author Pascale Barberger-Gateau,
PhD, of INSERM, the French National
Institute for Health and Medical Research,
in Bordeaux, France.
“However, more research
is needed to identify the optimal quantity
and combination of nutrients which could be
protective before implementing nutritional
recommendations.”
In addition, the study found people who did
not carry the ApoE4 gene and consumed an
unbalanced diet characterized by regular use
of omega-6 rich oils, but not omega-3 rich
oils or fish were twice as likely to develop
dementia compared to those who didn’t eat
omega-6 rich oils, which include sunflower
or grape seed oil.
The study did not find
any association between consuming corn oil,
peanut oil, lard, meat or wine and lowering
risk of dementia.
“While we’ve identified dietary patterns
associated with lowering a person’s risk of
dementia or Alzheimer’s, more research is
needed to better understand the mechanisms
of these nutrients involved in these
apparently protective foods,” said Barberger-Gateau.
The study was supported by the National
Agency for Research in France.
The American Academy of Neurology, an
association of more than 20,000 neurologists
and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated
to improving patient care through education
and research. A neurologist is a doctor with
specialized training in diagnosing, treating
and managing disorders of the brain and
nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease,
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), dementia, West
Nile virus, and ataxia.
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