Fish oil does not slow the process of dementia, a new study has found.RSS Feed

Research into the brain shows that taking fish oil capsules does not slow either mental or physical decline in Alzheimer's patients as previously thought.

A study, conducted by Oregon Health and Science University, gave half a group of patients a supplement containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the other half a placebo.

The 400 participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's were then given memory tests for the duration of the trial. Some patients also had scans of the brain to check for a decrease in size.

In the past studies have indicated that a high level of DHA can slow down the process of dementia, though these were based on asking participants to recall how much oily fish they ate and so could be unreliable.

However, the researchers did conclude that they are not ruling out a link between DHA and memory loss altogether, saying that if the supplement was used earlier in the course of the disease, it is possible it could help.

This comes after news that vegetarians are at a higher risk of dementia due to a lack of vitamin B12 which is found in fish, meat, eggs and milk.

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Posted by Timothy Walters
 

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