Eating Fish Increases Brain Health

Eating fish is considered healthy, as long as it is not fried, according to researchers. Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., a radiology resident at UCLA and his team looked at 260 people to assess the level of brain health. The memory responsible brain parts were found to contain 4.3 percent grey matter for the folks who eat fish. As well, the parts of the brain responsible for cognition contained 14 percent more gray matter than. Eating fish increases brain health, they conclude.

Senior investigator James T. Becker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine, is worried because diseases related to brain functions will be more and more pervasive. By 2040, over 80 million people will suffer from dementia, a process which will have wide consequences.

Lifestyle is a very relevant predictor of what diseases people will suffer from. People who consume fish benefit from antioxidant effects because of the Omega 3 fatty acid. The same acid can be found in some nuts, seeds and oils.

“Our study shows that people who ate a diet that included baked or broiled, but not fried, fish have larger brain volumes in regions associated with memory and cognition,” Dr. Becker said. “We did not find a relationship between omega-3 levels and these brain changes, which surprised us a little. It led us to conclude that we were tapping into a more general set of lifestyle factors that were affecting brain health of which diet is just one part.”

Nevertheless, eating produce five times a day brings tremendous health benefices, but the ones who afford it, it is widely known.

Eating fish increases brain health, but lifestyle is equally important

There is no association between brain differences and blood levels of Omega 3. The most important thing is that the people who baked or broiled the fish once a week have higher chances of having a Bachelor degree.

“This suggests that lifestyle factors, in this case eating fish, rather than biological factors contribute to structural changes in the brain,” Dr. Becker noted. “A confluence of lifestyle factors likely are responsible for better brain health, and this reserve might prevent or delay cognitive problems that can develop later in life.”

So do they eat more fish because they have more education? Might be. A question for another time. But highly relevant is the fact that the lifestyle and quality of life influence your diet and overall health. Eating fish increases brain health so are the people living by the sea shore smarter?