🧠Air pollution is bad for your brain. Sure, you may not notice it today or next week, but years of exposure to pollutants can take a toll on your brain. Sure, you may not have autoimmune encephalitis, but brain health is important too all of us.
🐠Recent research suggests that eating more FISH might offer some protection!
🐠Based on dietary questionnaires and brain MRIs of 1315 women (as well as information about their exposure to polluted air), researchers found that women who ate fish 1-2 times per week had enough omega-3 fatty acids in their systems to counteract some of the bad effects of air pollution.
🧠Brain MRIs in the women who ate fish showed they actually had more white matter (less shrinkage)!
🐠This study isn’t the end-all-be-all. We definitely need to carefully choose the types of fish we eat and consider how the fish were raised. Some fish are high in heavy metals or other pollutants, which defeats the purpose. Those should be eaten less frequently and well sourced (something I review in appointments as part of applied clinical nutrition plans).
🐠But the good news is—the healthy omega-3 fats in fish may offer brain health benefits we never realized before!
🧠Want to know more ways to support brain health? Want more specific guidance on foods and supplements that are specific to you? That’s what we’re here for! Give us a call at 602-935-8239 to learn how we can support you.
Reference
Chen C., Xun P, Kaufman J, et al. Erythrocyte Omega-3 Index, Ambient Fine Particle Exposure and Brain Aging. Neurology. 2020.
https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2020/07/15/WNL.0000000000010074
Recent Comments