New research has highlighted the protective effects of omega-3 for the brain, showing that it reduces inflammatory effects linked to dementia almost entirely in older rats.
Published in the journal Brain Behaviour and Immunity, the findings suggest that omega-3 DHA may counteract the inflammatory effects of processed foods.
The team warned against processed foods for brain health, explaining that inflammation in the brain was evident after just four weeks of eating refined foods.
Senior author of the study Ruth Barrientos, at the Ohio State University Institute for Behavioural Medicine Research, said: “The fact we’re seeing these effects so quickly is a little bit alarming.
“These findings indicate that consumption of a processed diet can produce significant and abrupt memory deficit and in the ageing population, rapid memory decline has a greater likelihood of progressing into neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s disease.
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