Diet high in Omega-3 supplements have no effect on cognitive decline

Popping fish oil pills may not be a boon to the brain, according to the latest study.

In this study, Chew and her team enrolled participants who were at risk for developing age-related macular degeneration, a major cause of vision loss among older Americans.

Scientists who monitored the progress of 4,000 people over five years found no evidence that omega-3 capsules kept them any sharper witted as they aged. The data has been building, slowly but surely, and now the strongest study yet may finally dispel the myth that taking omega-3 supplements can protect the brain from cognitive decline and dementia.

Four groups of participants were given an inactive dummy pill, omega-3 on its own, two nutrients found in green leafy vegetables, or omega-3 plus the vegetable compounds. The average age of people in the study was 72, and 58 percent of them were female.

“Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t see any benefit of omega-3 supplements for stopping cognitive decline”, said Dr. Emily Chew, deputy clinical director at the National Eye Institute, which is part of NIH. They were investigating the possible cognitive benefits of omega-3 supplements.

At the beginning of the study, in 2011, they all had their memory and cognitive functions tested.

Following up on these results, the current study, called AREDS2, tested the effect of the other antioxidants plus omega-3 fatty acids.

Over the course of the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the participants all experienced some level of cognitive decline.

Previous research has suggested that diets high in omega-3 fatty acids have a protective effect on the brain. This basically means that the combination of supplements made no difference. All participants had early or intermediate AMD.

Researchers found that there was no statistically significant difference in change of scores between participants randomized to receive supplements vs. those who were not.

With Alzheimer’s disease set to balloon as the global population ages in the coming decades, researchers are keen to find ways to prevent the most common form of dementia. Some studies in mice have pointed to potential benefits of the supplement, including the reduction of abnormal protein deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s.

“It may be, for example, that the timing of nutrients, or consuming them in a certain dietary pattern, has an impact”, said researcher Lenore Launer, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging.

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Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 5.1 million senior citizens, may triple in the next 40 years, and the study said that more research is needed to determine if a preemptive cocktail of nutritional supplements will be a successful deterrent.