Baked or Broiled Fish Beneficial to Brain Health

While previous studies have suggested the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish have an anti-oxidant effect that is associated with improved brain health, new study findings suggest that eating baked or broiled fish at least once a week is good for the brain, regardless of how much omega-3 fatty acid the fish contains.

A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine analyzed data from 260 cognitively normal participants from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), in an effort to investigate the link between dietary intake and brain health. The participants provided dietary intake information and underwent high-resolution brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, according to the authors, who note that the study adds to the evidence that lifestyle factors could improve brain health later in life, potentially even reducing risk of dementia.
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The CHS was a 10-year, multi-center study that began in 1989, in order to investigate heart disease risk for factors in those individuals over age 65. For this study, the subset of CHS participants answered questionnaires about their eating habits, such as how much fish they eat and how it is typically prepared. The researchers found participants that ate baked or broiled fish at least once a week had larger grey matter brain volumes in regions of the brain responsible for memory and cognition, and were also more likely to be college educated than those who didn’t eat fish regularly.

For primary care physicians, the findings underscore the need “to remember that lifestyle factors have a cumulative effect on brain structure and risk of cognitive decline in old age,” says James T. Becker, PhD, a professor of psychiatry, psychology, and neurology at the University of Pittsburgh, and a co-author of the study.

“What happens in the 40s and 50s affects risk of problems in the 60s and 70s. In the case of diet and other modifiable lifestyle factors, e.g., exercise, a varied diet, including baked or broiled fish on a regular basis, is the best way to promote brain health,” says Becker.

“Frying fish not only has the downside of a high fat content, but also breaks down the critical fatty acids that may be beneficial to health over the long term. We are not suggesting a radical change to diet and lifestyle, but only small changes that will, in the end, have big effects.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Raji C, Erickson K, et al. Regular Fish Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014.