Eating seafood or fatty fish, even those contaminated with mercury, does not increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the results of a study published in the scientific journal Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). These foods rich in omega 3 would protect against cognitive decline.
Researchers from the Rush School of Medicine in Chicago (USA) autopsied 544 brains and observed that the mercury levels of 286 brains corresponded to the meals containing seafood eaten each week, established by completed questionnaires 4, 5 years on average before their death.
The study findings revealed a strong correlation between reduction in characteristic pathology Alzheimer’s and eating seafood at least once a week. However, it does not establish harmful effects of mercury on the brain.
“Eating fatty fish can still be considered potentially positive against cognitive decline in at least part of the elderly population,” write Edeltraut Kroger and Robert Laforce, of Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, on this study. “An approach which should no longer, thanks to this study, give rise to concerns about contamination by mercury contained in fish and shellfish,” they add.
In high doses, mercury is associated with neurological disorders (in particular multiple sclerosis). The National Agency for Health, Environmental and Occupational Safety (ANSES) therefore recommends consuming fish twice a week, to benefit from its nutritional properties, and to diversify the species of fish consumed.
For pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as for children under 30 months, ANSES recommends avoiding the most contaminated fish (predators) and limiting the consumption of North Atlantic fish to 150g / week for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and 60g per week for children under 30 months.
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