Omega-3 provides no benefit to brainpower

THE largest ever trial of fish oil supplements has found no evidence that they offer benefits for cognitive function in older people. The OPAL (Older People And omega-3 Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, investigated the effects of taking omega-3 supplements on the cognitive function of elderly participants. The two-year controlled trial enrolled 867 participants aged 70- 80 years who all had good cognitive health at the start of the study and were randomly assigned into two groups, one of which received fish oil capsules whilst the other group received a placebo. After the end of the study, whilst participants receiving fish oil capsules had significantly higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood than those in the placebo group, cognitive function did not change over the course of the study in either group. Dr. Alan Dangour, who led the study, urges caution in interpreting these results: "... it is important to keep in mind that poor cognitive function can take many years to develop and although this is the longest trial of its kind ever conducted, it may be that it was not long enough for any true beneficial effects to be detected amongst this healthy cohort of older people."Nike Lebron 10