Brain food?An omega-3 fat found in fish oil called DHA DHA docosahexaenoic acid. DHA, n.pr See acid, docosahexaenoic. (docosahexaenoic acid docosahexaenoic acid /do·co·sa·hexa·eno·ic ac·id/ (do-ko?sah-hek?sah-e-no´ik) an omega-3, polyunsaturated, 22-carbon fatty acid found almost exclusively in fish and marine animal oils. ) may cut the risk of dementia. Scientists tracked roughly 900 men and women who were, on average, 76 years old when the study began. Those with the highest blood levels of DHA were 47 percent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next nine years than those with lower DHA levels (after the researchers accounted for age, sex, high blood pressure, weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, and other risk factors). The high-DHA group consumed an average of 180 milligrams a day, largely from their three servings of fish per week. EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. (eicosapentaenoic acid eicosapentaenoic acid /ei·co·sa·pen·ta·eno·ic ac·id/ (EPA) (i-ko?sah-pen?tah-e-no´ik) an omega-3, polyunsaturated, 20-carbon fatty acid found almost exclusively in fish and marine animal oils. ), the other omega-3 fat in fish, had no impact on dementia risk. What to do: Eat two or three servings of fish--preferably fatty fish like salmon, herring, sardines, or mackerel--every week. You can also get DHA from supplements or DHA-enriched eggs. Arch. Neurol. 63: 1527, 1545, 2006. |
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