Eating fish may reduce risk of stroke

Posted on September 9, 2009

By Gregory Kellett, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at SFSU and UCSF, and science writer for Lumos Labs.

Eating lots of fish, the ultimate brain food, was recently associated with reduced risk of stroke.

A study conducted by Jyrki Virtanen and his crew at the University of Kuopio in Finland found that people who ate more fish tended to have fewer strokes. Virtanen looked at a population of 2,313 participants over the age of 65 who had their brains scanned (via MRI) twice, with a 5-year lapse between scans. After analyzing answers the participants gave to diet-related questionnaires the researchers found that:

  • Those eating fish 3 or more times a week had fewer sub-clinical infarcts or “mini-strokes” than those eating fish less than once a month.
  • Consuming more fish was associated with more intact brain white matter.
  • Fried fish is not so healthy, and seemed to negate the above benefits.

As seen in other research studying healthy brain food, omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in most fish oils, seem to be a key contributor to lowering the risk of stroke.

Reference: Virtanen, J. K., Siscovick, D. S., Longstreth, W. T., Kuller, L. H., & Mozaffarian, D. (2008). Fish consumption and risk of subclinical brain abnormalities on MRI in older adults. Neurology, 71(6), 439-446.

6 Responses to “Eating fish may reduce risk of stroke”

  1. dilandinga
    Oct 04, 2009
    Reply

    kdaQsH I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!


  2. Mesothelioma Cancer
    Oct 08, 2009
    Reply

    Great article. I have been a fan of fish my whole life, especially sardines even though my wife dislikes them. I have managed to get my grandchildren to like them also and their mom is pleased as she was not able to get them to eat any fish.

    Keep up the great work.


  3. Chired
    Oct 10, 2009
    Reply

    I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!,


  4. Eoworide
    Oct 11, 2009
    Reply

    It is the coolest site, keep so!,


  5. Jeraotreme
    Oct 11, 2009
    Reply

    Very cute :-) ))),


  6. acide folique
    Oct 30, 2009
    Reply

    Great post. These fish contain higher quantities of omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to be responsible for the cardiovascular benefits of fish consumption.



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