THERE'S something fishy about fish oils. Omega-3s – the fatty acids found in fish and nuts, oft touted as brain boosters – don't appear to slow mental decline.
Eric Ammann at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and colleagues analysed omega-3 levels in blood samples taken from 2000 women aged 60 to 80. Over six years, the women took tests that measured movement, speech and memory. No difference in cognition was found between women with high and low levels of omega-3 at the start of the study, nor in how quickly cognitive skills declined in people with consistently low or high omega-3 (Neurology, in press).
It may be that people who eat lots of fish and nuts are more affluent and health-conscious. Those factors could be the true force behind studies that seem to show omega-3s' protective effect on cognition, says Ammann.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Fish oils have a whiff of snake oil"
- Subscribe to New Scientist and you'll get:
- New Scientist magazine delivered every week
- Unlimited access to all New Scientist online content -
a benefit only available to subscribers - Great savings from the normal price
- Subscribe now!
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
Have your say
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
