Eating fish, nuts may lower risk of Alzheimer's disease: study

WASHINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Eating foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, salad dressing and nuts may be associated with lower blood levels of a protein related to Alzheimer's disease and memory problems, according to a new study published Wednesday in online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, 1,219 people older than age 65, free of dementia, provided information about their diet for an average of 1.2 years before their blood was tested for the beta-amyloid. Researchers looked specifically at 10 nutrients, including saturated fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, mono- unsaturated fatty acid, vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D.

The study found that the more omega-3 fatty acids a person took in, the lower their blood beta-amyloid levels. Consuming one gram of omega-3 per day (equal to approximately half a fillet of salmon per week) more than the average omega-3 consumed by people in the study is associated with 20 to 30 percent lower blood beta-amyloid levels.

Other nutrients were not associated with plasma beta-amyloid levels in the study. The results stayed the same after adjusting for age, education, gender, ethnicity, amount of calories consumed and whether a participant had the APOE gene, a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

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