Posted on 08/26/2015 9:00:49 AM PDT by Signalman
Millions of older people are wasting their time and money taking fish oils supplements to boost brain power after a study showed they do not slow mental decline. Scientists who monitored the progress of 4,000 people over five years found no evidence that omega-3 capsules kept them any sharper witted as they aged. Other studies have associated regular fish consumption with lower rates of the eye condition age-related macular degeneration (AMD), heart disease, and dementia, as well as larger brain volumes. So it has been widely assumed that the omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish are behind the health boost. But the new research indicates that fish oil supplements on their own are not enough to keep the brain young.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I remember when this hit the national news many years ago, that Omega 3 was good for your brain. Almost immediately the airwaves were flooded with advertisements for fish oil!
Now we find it was just more health food snake oil.
This wouldn’t be a hit piece to save the fish, would it?
I’ve been taking fish oil for several years now, but not to improve my brain power. (At my age, that’s a lost cause.) Rather, I take them to help with high cholesterol and blood pressure. I wish the study had also reported on that aspect of fish oil.
Very Interesting
We are so complicated that one miracle cure seems unlikely. Doing a holistic lifestyle makes much more sense. The brain does degenerate after 70 but it does not stop growing. We go from using specific areas of the brain to all areas. Moderate exercise for O2 is a must.
I used to take fish oil but it gave me rash on my upper arms for some reason. Certain brands of multiple vitamins have a similar effect.
In other news: a pound of bacon and a gallon of whole milk every day is shown to increase brain volume in teens. /s
Forget the fish oil, just eat the fish.
The retina is considered part of the brain complex and omega-3s are helpful in limiting retinal diseases of the elderly, so this article is incorrect when it attempts to disassociate the pathology of retinal neural tissue from higher cortical neural tissues. The evidence can be directly measured in the eye, but we lack the ability to assess brain function in that manner. The inability to measure the efficacy of a therapy is not the same as the therapy having zero effect.
I do both, but can only eat fish once or twice a week. The capsule is pretty easy each day and probably better than nothing.
From what I have read, eating fish once or twice a week is pretty much all you need.
I love fish.
Don’t care. All I know is since having two 6 oz servings of fresh caught wild salmon a week, my mental acuity has increased. It’s been almost a year now.
So, to me the actual issues are to do with the effectiveness of fish oil supplements. They’re simply not effective. Including the prescription fish oil supplement Lovaza.
Vesecpa from Amarin MAY be they exception. EPA and DHA omegas seem to work against each other. Amarin has all but eliminated DHA from Vescepa, (pure EPA, or very close) Lovaza has not and has side effects that Vescepa does not have. Both drugs are for high trig readings of over 500 not memory loss. Vescepa is in the middle of FDA phase III trials to determine if it reduces cardiac events. If it does it will be a huge blockbuster drug. I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t monitoring other effects such as memory in order for more possible future trials if the current outcomes trial is successful.
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