Diet Mail Diet Mail - May 2014, Mother's Day Special | Page 3
RECENT NUTRITIONAL STUDY
New research, presented at the Experimental Biology
2014 meeting, finds that low dietary intake of long-chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids can predict cognitive
decline.
Previous studies have shown that long-chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important for
good brain health. Researchers from Tufts University in
Medford, MA, wanted to see whether the PUFAs alphalinolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexanoic acid (DHA) are risk factors for cognitive
This dietary recommendation is to ensure that
decline.
people receive an adequate amount - about 1,750
Conducting a longitudinal, observational study using the
mg per week - of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids
EPA and DHA.
Boston Puerto Rican Health Study cohort, the researchers
The researchers found that the participants who
put 895 participants through "an intensive series of
were in the lowest four quintiles of EPA and DHA
cognitive tests."
intake were the most likely to show signs of
These included an attention test to repeat lists of numbers
forward and backward, and tests of organization and
planning that involved copying complex figures. The tests
cognitive decline over the 2-year study period.
Lead author Tammy Scott, PhD, a scientist at the Jean
Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on
Aging at Tufts University, considers that these results
prove that long-chain fatty acids are essential for
were repeated as part of a 2-year follow-up.
maintaining good cognitive health but that many
The participants also gave details of their dietary intake via
Americans do not have an adequate intake of PUFAs.
questionnaires. The researchers found that the study
She says:
“While more research is needed to determine
group had low intake of omega-3 PUFAs. Only 27% of the
whether intake of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna
participants were meeting the 2010 US Dietary
and trout can help prevent against cognitive
Guidelines' recommended weekly intake of 8 or more
ounces of seafood - primarily from eating canned tuna.
decline, our preliminary data support previous
research showing that intake of these types of fish
have health benefits."
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