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Researchers found that elderly men and women who more
frequently ate fish scored better on memory, visual
conception, spatial motor skills, attention, orientation,
and verbal fluency tests. The lead researcher said that all
six cognitive tests were performed better by those who ate
fish. Furthermore, the effect was stronger as fish
consumption increased up to a limit of about 80 grams per
day, he added. They assessed cognitive ability and the
average daily amount of fish and seafood in the diets of
2,031 men and women, between 70 and 74 years old, recruited
from the general population of Western Norway. Overall,
1,951 of the study participants reported eating 10 or more
grams per day of fresh, frozen, or canned fish and seafood,
or fish products such as cod liver and fish oil, the
investigators report. The remaining 80 participants ate less
than 10 grams daily. Study participants who reported more
frequent consumption of fatty or lean fish as their main
meal performed significantly better in five of the six
cognitive tests, compared with those who did not eat fatty
or lean fish. By contrast, seniors who consumed only fish
oils
performed better on just one of the tests. Additional
research need to determine whether the cognitive benefits
from fish and seafood consumption depend on the type, the
species of fish or on the preparation.
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