Fishes have been known as a good source of nutrients since ages and have been hogging the credit for a good life since lately. A recently published study in the journal Neurology explains that eating fish can help prevent memory loss and chances of stroke in later stages of life.

Brain, fish

Fishes like tuna and others have shown 26 percent of lowered risk of silent brain lesions that cause dementia in 3,660 study participants aged 65. The sexagenarians underwent brain scans every five years and a regime of filling up questionnaires that inquired about the inclusion of fish in their diets.

“While eating tuna and other types of fish seems to help protect against memory loss and stroke, these results were not found in people who regularly ate fried fish,” said Jyrki Virtanen, PhD, RD, with the University of Kuopio in Finland. “More research is needed as to why these types of fish may have protective effects, but the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA would seem to have a major role.”

“Previous findings have shown that fish and fish oil can help prevent stroke, but this is one of the only studies that looks at fish’s effect on silent brain infarcts in healthy, older people,” said Virtanen.

Fishes that are known to contain high-levels of DHA and EPA nutrients are salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and anchovies. Also, it has been found that regular consumption of these types of fishes helps in resisting any change in the white matter of the brain.