Fish May Protect Against Alzheimer's

As long as it's baked or grilled, not fried: study
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 30, 2011 2:44 PM CST
Fish May Protect Against Alzheimer's
Salmon may help protect against Alzheimer's, as long as it's cooked correctly.   (Flickr)

One possible way to protect yourself against Alzheimer's: Eat fish once per week. A new study suggests that elderly people who do just that are three to five times less likely to get the disease or suffer memory loss, the Telegraph reports. But in order for the fish to help, its brain-protecting Omega-3 fatty acids must be preserved—which means you can bake it or grill it, but not fry it.

University of Pittsburgh researchers studied 260 healthy volunteers whose average age was 76, and asked them about their fish-eating habits. Ten years later, the brains of those who did not regularly eat fish had suffered more shrinkage in areas related to memory than the brains of the fish eaters. Five years after that, 31% of those who didn't eat a lot of fish had developed Alzheimer's or Mild Cognitive Impairment, compared to just 3% to 8% of those who ate fish once a week. (More Alzheimer's disease stories.)

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