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One of the study authors, Professor Bill Harris from Stanford University’s Department of Medicine in South Dakota, says “There is now overwhelming evidence from no less than four studies this year that increasing your intake and blood levels of omega-3 is strongly associated with reducing future dementia risk. Ideally a person wants to get their blood omega-3 index above 8%”.
This UK study confirmed the results of a US study (2) earlier this year that found a 49 per cent reduced risk for dementia in those with the highest omega-3 DHA level (top fifth) in their red blood cells versus the lowest (bottom fifth). Oily fish and fish oil supplements contain two kinds of omega-3 fat called DHA and EPA. DHA is the main fat found in brain cells of all animals.
What’s more a meta-analysis of 48 studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2023 (3) also concludes that ‘a moderate-to-high level of evidence suggested that dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids could lower risk of all-cause dementia or cognitive decline by about 20 per cent, especially for DHA intake’.
Each 100mg increment of DHA was associated with an 8–10 per cent lower risk of dementia.
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A recent study by psychologists at the Linda Loma University in California and published in the journal Brain Sciences (4), reported that the higher a person’s omega-3 index was in their blood, the more white matter there was in their brain meaning they had more brain volume, and the better they performed on cognitive tests that predict less risk for dementia.
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This is why we have launched our omega-3 campaign and offer our home test kits to measure the omega-3 index from a pinprick of blood, the measure used in this research. Alongside the blood test, you are invited to complete a free online Cognitive Function Test and a Dementia Risk Index questionnaire that not only calculates your risk but tells you what to do to lower it.
We hope to enrol hundreds of thousands of people interested in protecting their brains and willing to have a yearly pinprick blood test and assess their memory with a validated online test.
This is ‘citizen science’ with the research results shared back to everyone involved.
Less than one per cent of Alzheimer’s is caused by genes. This is a largely preventable disease and getting your omega-3 level up by eating oily fish and taking supplements is likely to cut risk by a third. We need to both research and educate people to take prevention action from their 30s.
Thank you for reading!
Food for the Brain is a non-for-profit educational and research charity that offers a free Cognitive Function Test and assesses your Dementia Risk Index to be able to advise you on how to dementia-proof your diet and lifestyle.
By completing the Cognitive Function Test you are joining our grassroots research initiative to find out what really works for preventing cognitive decline. We share our ongoing research results with you to help you make brain-friendly choices.
Please support our research by becoming a Friend of Food for the Brain.
1 Sala-Vila, A.; Tintle, N.; Westra, J.; Harris, W.S. Plasma Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Risk for Incident Dementia in the UK Biobank Study: A Closer Look. Nutrients 2023, 15,4896. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu15234896
2 Sala-Vila, A.; Satizabal, C.L.; Tintle, N.; Melo van Lent, D.; Vasan, R.S.; Beiser, A.S.; Seshadri, S.; Harris, W.S. Red Blood Cell DHA Is Inversely Associated with Risk of Incident Alzheimer’s Disease and All-Cause Dementia: Framingham Offspring Study. Nutrients 2022, 14, 2408. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu14122408
3 Wei BZ, Li L, Dong CW, Tan CC; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Xu W. The Relationship of Omega-3 Fatty Acids with Dementia and Cognitive Decline: Evidence from Prospective Cohort Studies of Supplementation, Dietary Intake, and Blood Markers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023
4 Loong, S.; Barnes, S.; Gatto, N.M.; Chowdhury, S.; Lee, G.J. Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Cognition, and Brain Volume in Older Adults. Brain Sci.2023,13,1278. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/brainsci13091278
