Omega-3 Fish Oil 'silver bullet' benefit debunked in Alzheimer's blow - and what really lowers risk
Contrary to popular belief, Omega-3 fish oil is not necessarily benefitting our brains.
It's reported that over a billion dollars are spent on the supplements every single year, with buyers labouring under the impression that acids within boost brain health.
Published by eBioMedicine, a new scientific study - focussed solely on hundreds of adults aged between 55 and 80, nearly half of whom carrying the Alzheimer's disease harbinger APOE4 gene - has debunked this accepted 'truth'.
Across the two-year clinical trial, researchers from the University of Southern California determined that high doses of Omega-3 pills actually failed to improve cognitive performance and memory.
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Neither did they have a positive impact on brain cell loss.
"We all wish there was a silver bullet for preventing Alzheimer's, but our findings showed that fish oil supplements do not appear to protect brain health," noted Hussein Naji Yassine, MD, director of the USC Center for Personalised Brain Health.
"While Omega-3s play an important role in forming brain cell connections needed for cognition, our results do not support fish oil supplements as a preventive measure against Alzheimer's."
The study's participants were divided into daily fish oil supplement and placebo groups - each supplement containing 2,000 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is fatty in Omega-3.
Although DHA successfully reach its intended target, the brain, this failed to translate into tangible cognitive improvement.
Most significantly, brain imaging scans taken two years later solidified the fact that the hippocampus (a region of the brain used to mark risk of Alzheimer's) was not slowed down in its shrinking.
These findings have seen researchers turn their attention to why Omega-3s cannot produce measurable brain health benefits.
Yassine went on to add: "We're focused on better understanding how the brain processes Omega-3s and whether factors, such as poor health, dietary pattern, genetic risk and age, may change the brain's ability to effectively absorb and use Omega-3s.
"We are working to develop medications that may help the brain better utilise these nutrients to preserve cognitive function."
As for how we can lower the chances of an Alzheimer's future for ourselves, it's mostly down to maintaining an overall positive state of health.
The study's lead investigator said: "Staying healthy throughout life remains the most powerful tool we have for reducing Alzheimer's risk, including regular exercise, quality sleep and a balanced diet.
"Living a healthy lifestyle is the brain's equivalent of getting regular car maintenance and high-quality oil changes. The brain is more likely to lose greater function if health issues in other parts of the body go unaddressed, in the same way that car engines stop working if regular maintenance is skipped."
Staring directly at the sun for 30 minutes each morning is another scientifically backed-up option.
Dan Seddon