(ANSA) - ROME - Salmon, mackerel, cod, tuna, herring or sardines: eating them can keep our brains healthy and thinking agile in middle age.
It is a new research from Ut Health San Antonio, published in the journal Neurology, to establish this connection, linked to the Omega 3 contained in these foods.
The average age of the participants, 2,183 people, was 46.
The research team correlated omega-3 fatty acid concentrations in red blood cells with MRI findings and cognitive markers of brain aging.
The researchers also studied the effect of omega-3 red blood cell concentrations in participants who were carriers of Apoe4, a genetic variation linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Analysis of the results revealed that a higher Omega-3 index was associated with larger hippocampal volumes.
The hippocampus is a brain structure that plays an important role in learning and memory.
Consuming more Omega-3s was also associated with better abstract reasoning or understanding complex concepts using logical thinking.
Researchers don't know exactly how these fatty acids protect the brain.
One theory is that, because they are needed in the membrane of neurons, when replaced with other types of fatty acids, these nerve cells become unstable.
Another explanation could instead have to do with the anti-inflammatory properties of Omega 3. What is certain, the researchers conclude, is that when they are consumed it is protecting the brain.
(HANDLE).