Fish Oil Supplements Fail to Improve Memory in People at Risk of Alzheimer’s, Study Finds

A study by researchers at the University of Southern California found that fish oil supplements did not improve memory in people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, despite delivering omega-3 fatty acids to the brain.

The findings highlight a distinction between getting these fatty acids into the brain and producing a measurable benefit for memory. The supplements achieved the former, but that did not translate into improved recall.

The result challenges the expectation that taking fish oil will necessarily help protect memory. In this study, the delivery of omega-3s alone was not enough to demonstrate that benefit.

The findings concern memory outcomes and should not be read as a verdict on every potential use of fish oil. They do, however, underline the need to distinguish a supplement’s biological effects from evidence that it improves cognitive function.