Soy, Fish Oil May Protect Against Alzheimer's - Study
 (Washington, Reuters Health, 9/1/04)

Greg Cole of the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, and team, found that when mice that were bred to develop brain lesions were fed a diet high in soy and fish, the animals exhibited less memory loss and brain damage than expected. When the investigators substituted safflower oil in the diets of some of the subjects, these mice developed synaptic damage in their brains, resembling what occurs in the brains of human Alzheimer patients. The scientists determined that the Omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the soy and fish was associated with the reduced impact of the “Alzheimer’s gene.” The researchers speculate that DHA may reduce the impact of Alzheimer’s Disease by protecting against synaptic damage.

(Neuron, September 2, 2004)

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