Omega 3 Fats & Fatty Acids Benefits – For My Memory?
I watched an episode of Dr. Oz one day and his guest went on and on about the need for Omega 3 fats and fatty acids in our diet. The big benefit, they said, was to prevent heart disease and risk of heart attack. Other benefits included lubrication of the joints, lower bad cholesterol levels, healthy skin, and even help in brain function. A description from the Doctor Oz site is given here. Is all of this true? Well, maybe, or maybe not. You can read for yourself that many of these claims appear to be true. All of this seemed appealing to me. So I gave it a try. I have been taking fish oil, as pictured above, for nearly 3 weeks now.
Improved Memory? I Will Find Out Myself!
An article at WebMD.com states people 55 and older with age-related memory complaints who took the fatty acid supplements for six months had almost double the reduction in errors on a test that measures learning and memory skills, compared with those who took a placebo. This gives me a bit of hope here!
A little over 2 years back, I posted about memory loss and I also posted results of a memory test I devised. In the test described, I studied a list of random 2 digit numbers for 1 minute and then tried to recall as many numbers as possible. When I took the tests back then, I scored 5.8 words recalled. Just yesterday, I took the test again with 5 trials and averaged 5.0 words recalled. Given the lack of variability, I can conclude that my short term memory has declined a bit in the last 2 and a half years! But will Omega 3 Oil bring it back? I will take this memory test again in a 4 months or so and post the findings. Hope so!