A clinical trial found that taking high dose omega-3 supplements for 2 years did not help memory or thinking skills in older adults at increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
Researchers at Keck Medicine of USC led the study, which was published in
Fish oil is one of the most familiar ways people get omega-3s. However, the supplement in this clinical trial wasn’t made from fish, Hussein Yassine, MD, director of the USC Center for Personalized Brain Health with Keck Medicine of USC and the study’s lead researcher, told Healthline. This article uses the broader term omega-3 supplements.
The researchers found that taking supplements raised omega-3 levels in participants’ brains, yet it didn’t change their memory, thinking skills, or brain structure.
Dung Trinh, MD, an internist at MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, California, who wasn’t involved in the study, told Healthline that the findings challenge the common belief that omega-3 supplements, such as fish oil, can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease or improve memory.
Millions of older adults take omega-3 supplements. In a 2017–2018 federal survey, 21.8% of U.S. adults age 60 and older reported taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement in the past 30 days, according to the
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