Omega-3 fatty acids enhance cognitive flexibility in at-risk older adults

Illinois: A study of older adults at risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease found that those who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids did better than their peers on tests of cognitive flexibility – the ability to efficiently switch between tasks – and had a bigger anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region known to contribute to cognitive flexibility. The analysis suggests, but does not prove, that consuming DHA and EPA, two omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, enhanced cognitive flexibility in these adults in part by beefing up the anterior cingulate cortex, the researchers report in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

Lipids boost the brain

CNRS. France: Consuming oils with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in particular those containing omega-3s, is beneficial for the health. But the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly known. Researchers at the Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (CNRS/Université Nice Sophia Antipolis), the Unité Compartimentation et Dynamique Cellulaires (CNRS/Institut Curie/UPMC), the INSERM and the Université de Poitiers investigated the effect of lipids bearing polyunsaturated chains when they are integrated into cell membranes. Their work shows that the presence of these lipids makes the membranes more malleable and therefore more sensitive to deformation and fission by proteins. These results, published on August 8, 2014 in Science, could help explain the extraordinary efficacy of endocytosis in neuron cells.

Nuts

• Nuts ( nuts, almonds, cashew, peanut, pecan, pine nut, pistachio nut, macadamia nut, hazelnut, walnut) are a good source of macronutrients and micronutrients. 
• Nuts are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, high-quality vegetable protein, and minerals (eg, magnesium and potassium). 
• Nuts also have high contents of bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, tocopherols, phytosterols, and phenolics. 
• Walnuts are especially rich in polyunsaturated acids, including α-linolenic acid (omega 3). 
• Previous clinical trials and epidemiologic studies have shown that nuts have beneficial effects on various mediators of chronic diseases, including lipid concentrations (eg cholesterol), inflammation, insulin resistance (diabetes), and blood pressure (BP). 
• A review concluded that the consumption of nuts more than 5 times per week was associated with a reduced incidence of coronary heart disease (IHD). 
• In the past several years, additional studies have been published on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and all-cause mortality.
• A recent  meta-analysis indicates that nut intake is inversely associated with IHD, overall cardiovascular diseases, and all-cause mortality but not significantly associated with diabetes and stroke.
• Source: Cheng Luo,Yan Zhang and coll. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Vitamin B and omega-3 supplementation and cancer: new data

Researchers from the Nutritional Epidemiology Joint Research Unit (Inserm-Inra-Cnam-Université Paris 13) have just published a study showing that, in men with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies, supplementation with B vitamins and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (the fatty acids present particularly in oily fish and dried fruit) did not significantly increase the occurrence of cancer. However, women with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies seem to have a higher cancer risk after five years of supplementation. The research is published in detail in the Archives of Internal Medicine.