Omega-3 vetzuren voor betere mentale gezondheid.*
Uit twee studies, een Noorse en een Nederlandse blijkt dat omega-3 vetzuren goed zijn tegen mentale achteruitgang bij senioren. Uit de Noorse studie onder meer dan 2.000 ouderen van ruim 70 jaar blijkt dat senioren die al 10 gram per dag eten duidelijk beter scoren bij cognitieve testen. Hoe meer vis gegeten werd hoe hoger de scores. Zij die 75 gram vis per dag namen hadden veruit de hoogste score. De beste resultaten werden gescoord met witte en vette vis en niet met bewerkte vis. Uit de Nederlandse studie onder 800 mensen blijkt dat bij hoge bloedwaarden omega-3 in drie jaar tijd de cognitieve vermogens duidelijk minder achteruit gaan dan bij lagere bloedwaarden omega-3.
Fish And Omega 3 Linked To Mental Skills
A Norwegian study has found a link between eating fish and improved mental skills in older people, a Dutch study found a link between higher omega 3 in the blood and lower mental decline.
For the Norwegian study, which was conducted by researchers from the University of Oslo and other colleagues, more than 2,000 people aged 70 - 74, roughly half men and half women, were recruited from the general population in Western Norway. The researchers found that those participants who ate more than 10 grams (a third of an ounce) of seafood a day scored significantly higher in cognitive performance tests than those who ate
less.
The participants completed a battery of 6 cognitive, verbal, memory and learning tests. The results showed that those participants whose mean daily intake of fish or seafood was equal to or higher than 10 grams a day (the vast majority of the cohort) had significantly better mean scores and a lower rate of poor cognitive performance (defined as scoring in the worst ten per cent of each test) than those who ate less than 10 grams of seafood a day (a tiny minority of under 100).
They found the link became stronger the more seafood the participants consumed, with the highest test scores occurring at 75 grams of seafood a day. The effect was strongest for non-processed lean fish and fatty fish, said the researchers.
They concluded that:
"In the elderly, a diet high in fish and fish products is associated with better cognitive performance in a dose-dependent manner."
For the Dutch study, which was conducted by researchers from Wageningen University and other colleagues, over 800 people aged 50 to 70 were examined. The researchers found that the cognitive skills of those participants with higher blood levels of omega 3 fatty acids at the start of the study declined more slowly over three years. The link was strongest for tests where participants had to respond quickly, but there was no link found in more general tests of mental
ability.
Omega 3 fatty acids, also called n-3 PUFAs (long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids with 3 double bonds) are found in a range of seafoods and plants. The main types are DHA, EPA and ALA. DHA and EPA are found in fatty fish like salmon and mackerel; ALAs, are found in vegetables, seeds and nuts, for instance spinach, flax seeds and
walnuts.
The researchers used data from the FACIT trial, which was primarily designed to look at the effect of folic acid on mental skills. The participants took folic acid or placebos for three years, but the researchers were also able to use the blood samples and cognitive test results to look at the link between other nutrients and mental
skills.
The results showed that higher blood levels of n-3 PUFAs were linked with slower decline in sensorimotor speed and complex speed over three years. They were not linked with changes in memory, information processing speed or word fluency, said the researchers. Also, a cross-sectional analysis showed no links between blood levels of n-3 PUFAs and performance in 5 areas of cognitive ability. This is an interesting contrast to the Norwegian
study.
The researchers concluded that:
"In this population, plasma n-3 PUFA proportions were associated with less decline in the speed-related cognitive domains over 3 y."
They said these results need to be confirmed with controlled clinical trials.
"Cognitive performance among the elderly and dietary fish intake: the Hordaland Health Study."
Eha Nurk, Christian A Drevon, Helga Refsum, Kari Solvoll, Stein E Vollset, Ottar Nygård, Harald A Nygaard, Knut Engedal, Grethe S Tell, and A David Smith.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 5, 1470-1478. Click
here for Abstract.
"n-3 Fatty acid proportions in plasma and cognitive performance in older adults.
Carla Dullemeijer, Jane Durga, Ingeborg A Brouwer, Ondine van de Rest, Frans J Kok, Robert-Jan M Brummer, Martin PJ van Boxtel, and Petra Verhoef.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 5, 1479-1485.Click here for Abstract.
(December 2007)
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