Giving old male rats a little bit of fish oil (DHA) in their sugary diet helps them remember better and keeps their brain from getting too inflamed from eating too many refined carbs.

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Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Dietary DHA prevents cognitive impairment and inflammatory gene expression in aged male rats fed a diet enriched with refined carbohydrates.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Animal

2021 Nov

Scientists gave old rats a junk food diet that made them forgetful and caused brain inflammation, but when they added a type of healthy fat called DHA, the rats remembered better and their brains were less inflamed.

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Source Study

Dietary DHA prevents cognitive impairment and inflammatory gene expression in aged male rats fed a diet enriched with refined carbohydrates.

Score: 14

DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.08.214

Similar Assertions

Older male rats that eat a lot of sugary, processed carbs for a month start to forget things better and show signs of brain inflammation—this might be why aging brains get worse when we eat too many junk foods.

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When older male rats eat more DHA—a healthy fat found in fish—their brains produce less of a protein that normally trims brain connections too much as they age, which might help them keep their memory and thinking skills longer.

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73%