Fish oil may prevent junk-food brain damage

It’s well known the junk food can wreak havoc on the body’s metabolism, but did you know it might al…

It’s well known the junk food can wreak havoc on the body’s metabolism, but did you know it might also affect the brain? Poor eating can disrupt new nerve cells from forming, but fish and fish oil might be powerful enough to prevent this from happening.

Researchers took a look at how refined sugars and saturated fats affect brain health, and the news was not good. Dr Lucy Pickavance, from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, explains: "Body weight is influenced by many factors, and some of the most important of these are the nutrients we consume. Excessive intake of certain macronutrients, the refined sugars and saturated fats found in junk food, can lead to weight gain, disrupt metabolism and even affect mental processing.”

In other words, it prevents new brain cells from forming. But, Pickavance says fish oil interferes with refined sugars and saturated fats ability to take control of the brain. Fish oil interferes with the production of inflammatory molecules (triglycerides) that kick in when one eats junk food, but fish oil returns the brain’s nerve growth back to normal.

"Fish oils don't appear to have a direct impact on weight loss, but they may take the brakes off the detrimental effects of some of the processes triggered in the brain by high-fat diets. They seem to mimic the effects of calorie restrictive diets and including more oily fish or fish oil supplements in our diets could certainly be a positive step forward for those wanting to improve their general health,” she says.