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Fish has always been considered brain food. Now some researchers are diving deeper to see if fish oil supplements can improve the memory of Alzheimer’s patients.
Dean Boman is in the early stages of Alzheaimer’s and he is determined to keep the disease at bay. “I treat it as an enemy. I try to do everything I can to stay away from it,” says Boman.
He took part in a small study at Oregon Health and Science University to see if fish oil could keep his memory from slipping. Fish oil contains high amounts of DHA, an Omega-3 fatty acid necessary for brain function.
“There have been a lot of population studies that showed a decreased risk in Alzheimer’s disease for those people who ate a serving of fish or more per week,” says Doctor Lynne Shinto.
Some study participants took fish oil alone. Others took it with alpha lipoic acid, a strong antioxidant meant to keep the fish oil from breaking down so quickly in the body.
“We’re excited to see that we did find a significant difference in those receiving the dual combination, so that’s the fish oil plus the antioxidant,” says Shinto.
While the fish oil group did well, the combination group did even better on memory tests over the one year study.
“What we also found was that the fish oil group alone and the fish oil plus the antioxidant group declined less in their daily activities,” says Shinto.
More studies are needed, but for now, the early findings are enough for Dean. He says he’ll keep taking both supplements. “Oh yes, I have a handful of pills every day,” says Boman.
He knows it won’t cure Alzheimer’s but at least it may help him remember better.
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