Fish oil found to slow down effects of junk food on the brain
An analysis of 185 studies suggests that fish oil could minimize the negative effects junk food has on the brain.
A team from the University of Liverpool reviewed research from around the world to see whether there was evidence to suggest that omega-3s had a role to play in aiding weight loss.
Recent research has indicated that fatty junk food-packed diets could disrupt a process called neurogenesis, which generates new nerve cells, but diets rich in omega-3s could prevent these negative effects by stimulating the area of the brain that controls feeding, learning and memory.
While the team found that fish oils do not have a direct impact on this process in these areas of the brain, they are likely to play a significant role in stalling refined sugars and saturated fats' ability to inhibit the brain's control on the body's intake of food, they said.
"Body weight is influenced by many factors, and some of the most important of these are the nutrients we consume," said head researcher Dr. Lucy Pickavance, from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease. "Excessive intake of certain macronutrients, the refined sugars and saturated fats found in junk food, can lead to weight gain, disrupt metabolism and even affect mental processing."
"These changes can be seen in the brain's structure, including its ability to generate new nerve cells, potentially linking obesity to neurodegenerative diseases," she added.
"Fish oils don't appear to have a direct impact on weight loss, but they may take the brakes off the detrimental effects of some of the processes triggered in the brain by high-fat diets," Pickavance said.
"They seem to mimic the effects of calorie restrictive diets and including more oily fish or fish oil supplements in our diets could certainly be a positive step forward for those wanting to improve their general health."
The research, announced May 14, is published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Access: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8904778
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