Fish good for mental function

Older people suffering from mental impairment and dementia might benefit by including fish in their diet. Researchers at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom assessed the mental ability and the average amount of fish and seafood in the daily diets of 2,031 Norwegian men and women, between 70 and 74 years old. Overall, 1,951 of them reported eating 10 gram or more per day of fresh, frozen, or canned fish and seafood, or fish products such as cod liver and fish oil. The remaining 80 participants ate less than 10 g daily. People who reported more frequent consumption of fatty or lean fish as their main meal performed significantly better in five of the six cognitive or mental tests, compared with those who did not eat fatty or lean fish. Processed fish or fish sandwiches were likewise associated with better performance on three of the cognitive tests, the investigators note. By contrast, seniors who consumed only fish oils performed better on just one of the tests. The findings indicate that elderly men and women who more frequently ate fish scored better on memory, visual conception, spatial motor skills, attention, orientation and verbal fluency tests. Furthermore, the effect was stronger as fish consumption increased up to a limit of about 80 g per day. Further research is warranted to determine whether the cognitive benefits from fish and seafood consumption depend on the type, the species of fish or on the preparation. Also, more study is required to discover what components of fish are important since it was found that lean fish was as good as fatty fish, so it may not just be the omega-3 fatty acids that confer cognitive benefit.