Boffins prove fish really is brain food

SCIENTISTS have proven our grandmothers were right after all — eating fish will increase your brain power.

By turning children’s bad eating habits on their head and making them eat fish instead of junk food, scientists found their brain function started growing 10 times faster than usual.

This is the result of a British study which put four overweight children through a crash course in healthy habits.

They had to eat plenty of the fatty acids such as omega 6 and omega 3 which occur naturally in fresh, oily fish.

Neuroscientist, Professor Basant Puri, used traditional memory tests as well as MRI scans to measure the improvements in each of the children.

“The results of this study were astonishing. After taking fatty acids daily for just three months, the children showed an increase in reading age of well over a year.

“Also, during three months we would expect their brains to have grown by three months’ worth. In fact, they showed an increase in their brain growth by three years’ worth,” Prof Puri said.

“This was reflected in their improved arithmetical and constructional skills and in their memory and concentration.”

Margo Brennan of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute said the study backs up a flood of evidence in recent years promoting the omega fatty acids in fish.

“There has been a huge amount of reports in recent years showing the brain’s ability to grow at a tremendous rate with these acids,” Ms Brennan said.

She said omega acids could be bought with supplements but the body dealt with them best when they were in fresh fish.

“It is important to point out that not all fatty acids are the same and the body cannot break them up in the same way. The best ones are the ones called EPA and DHA.

“These occur naturally in fish, especially in the oily fish like salmon, mackerel and herring. But while these are very good for pregnant women they should only be taken at the very most twice a week,” she added.

Prof Puri’s study was commissioned for a Channel Five television programme and focused on four children between the ages of eight and 12 who were significantly obese.

He was testing the effectiveness of a special omega acid supplement product, VegEPA, which takes acids from fish oil and evening primose oil.

Prof Puri said this had begun to reverse the harmful effects the children’s junk-food lifestyles had had on them.