Taking a beloved supplement for cognitive health may no longer be a no-brainer.
About 19 million American adults – 1 in 5 over the age of 60 – consume fish oil because they have been told it will benefit their brain and heart and help fight chronic inflammation.
It is among the five most popular supplements in the United States, while the global fish oil market is worth $3.4 billion.
But it’s probably time to stop taking the bait. A shocking new study casts doubt on slippery fish oil claims, describing the pale yellow capsules as little more than snake oil.
“We all wish there was a silver bullet to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, but our results showed that fish oil supplements do not appear to protect brain health,” said Dr. Hussein Naji Yassine, director of the Center for Personalized Brain Health at the University of Southern California and principal investigator of the study.
How did so many people fall for this thing, hook, line and stink? As we age, we are constantly looking for better and simpler ways to prevent the cognitive decline that affects approximately 1 in 9 Americans.
The idea is that people who eat lots of fish are healthy, so a concentrated dose of marine life must be good for us too. It’s an idea that dates back to ancient times and has gained traction in baby boomer homes.
Fish oil is a popular source of omega-3, fatty acids like EPA and DHA that support cellular function as well as eye, heart and joint health.
“Although omega-3 plays an important role in forming the connections between brain cells necessary for cognition, our results do not support fish oil supplements as a preventative measure against Alzheimer’s disease,” Yassine said.
What the researchers discovered
USC researchers asked a group of 365 fish-averse adults, ages 55 to 80 and at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, to take fish oil daily to see if it would help them avoid cognitive decline over a two-year period.
The supplement did enter their central nervous system, but it didn’t actually help participants perform better on cognitive tests or slow the shrinkage of a key part of their brain responsible for forming and storing memories.
Specifically, the researchers assessed participants’ cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, and language, but found no significant differences in performance between those who took fish oil and those who took a placebo pill.
The hippocampus, a region critical to memory, is one of the first places to lose tissue as Alzheimer’s disease develops – but there was no difference in brain tissue loss between the two groups.
Previous studies have shown that fish oil is not helpful for longevity or heart health and may actually increase the risk of heart arrhythmia and stroke and impair healing after brain injury.
More concrete ways to fight Alzheimer’s disease
Our bodies do not produce omega-3, so we must obtain them through food or supplements.
The authors of the new study on fish oil, published in eBioMedicine, suggest better solutions than spending $25 at your local pharmacy.
“Living a healthy lifestyle is equivalent to regular car maintenance and high-quality oil changes for the brain,” Yassine said.
“The brain is more likely to lose greater function if health problems in other parts of the body are not addressed, in the same way that car engines stop working if regular maintenance is not performed.”
Consider getting enough exercise, controlling your blood pressure, and doing cognitive training.
Just taking 3,800 steps a day can reduce the risk of dementia by 25%. And controlling blood pressure can add 13 dementia-free years to a person’s life.
And rather than taking your fish in pill form, try eating the real fish as part of a Mediterranean-style diet that emphasizes leafy vegetables, berries, nuts and olive oil, alongside fish.
Gn Health
