Fish Oil helps Memory and Reaction Time

Fish oil helps memory and reaction time.

Researchers in Auckland, New Zealand, have found that supplementing the diet with DHA, improves both memory and reaction time in healthy young adults who habitually had a low intake. DHA is found in oily fish such as salmon, and is already known to accumulate in areas of the brain associated with memory and attention.

A total of 228 people (83 men and 145 women), aged 18 to 45, were recruited and randomly allocated to take either 1.16g of DHA per day, or a placebo capsule, for six months. The DHA dose was chosen to equate to two to three portions of oily fish per week. Assessment of the 176 individuals who completed the trial, showed improved memory and memory reaction times. Interesting differences also emerged between the sexes: in women, the accuracy of episodic memory (long-term memory associated with specific events in life) improved, whereas in men, the reaction time of working memory (short-term memory to help us execute a task) improved.

(DHA Supplementation Improved both Memory and Reaction Time in Healthy Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. on-line 20 March 2013.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.