Fatty Fish Cuts Risk of ‘Silent’ Brain Damage By A Quarter

Regular intake of fatty fish by older adults may help lower their risk of ‘silent’ brain damage that contributes to memory loss and dementia and a higher risk of stroke, a new Finnish study finds.

Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids like tuna, salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines, among others, when ate baked or broiled -- but not fried – lessens the persons’ chances of developing "silent" brain lesions - an area of damaged brain tissue that shows no obvious symptoms unless detected through brain scans, researchers report in the current issue of Neurology.

This is the first study that looks at fish’s effect on brain activity. "Previous findings have shown that fish and fish oil can help prevent stroke, but this is one of the only studies that looks at fish's effect on silent brain infarcts in healthy, older people," said lead researcher of the study, Jyrki Virtanen from the University of Kuopio in Finland.

For the study, the researchers looked at MRIdefine (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) brain scans of over 3600 adults aged 65 and above. No patients had a history of cerebrovascular disease, researchers highlighted. However, five years later, only 2,313 individuals were available for follow-up rescans.

Upon brain rescanning, remaining participants were questioned about their diets, specifically targeting the quantity of fish they ate.

On comparison of original scans with rescans, five years later, 20 percent of otherwise healthy elderly people were detected to have developed the ‘silent’ brain lesions.

However, men and women whose diets included three or more weekly helpings of omega-3-rich fish had a nearly 26 percent lower risk of having silent brain lesions, researchers found.

Whereas, a single serving per week reduced the risk by 13 percent compared to people who did not eat fish.

While overall findings add to evidence that fish rich in omega-3 fats have ‘important health benefits’, researchers emphasize on the fact that intake of fried fish failed to put forward similar benefits.

"While eating tuna, salmon, mackerel and other types of fish seems to help protect against memory loss and stroke, these results were not found in people who regularly ate fried fish," Virtanen said.

Furthermore, the fish low on omega-3 also fails to provide the protective effect, Virtanen cautioned.

Though the study is currently inconclusive towards the cause of protective benefits reaped, it’s likely that intake of two major omega-3 fatty acids -- EPA and DHA – found mainly in oily fish play a key role, researchers conclude.