Tag Archive for: University of Southern California

Omega-3s and Brain Health

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Another week, another study. Actually, it’s the commentary about the study that really grabbed my attention; the researchers used language like “fail” or “did not protect the brain” about a recent study on omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and cognitive ability. Let’s take a look at this study, and then we can decide for ourselves whether the science supports the commentary.

Researchers at the University of Southern California recruited over 300 subjects with specific physical and genetic profiles; they were attempting to find out whether two grams of high-DHA omega-3 fatty acid fish oil could improve or at least prevent the decline in cognitive ability. The researchers tested the change in omega-3 composition of cerebrospinal fluid as well as taking scans of the brain to see whether any shrinkage in specific areas of the brain occurred. They also did standardized cognitive testing to measure improvements or declines in cognition.

After two years, while there was improvement in the DHA ratio in the brain as evidenced by the increases in DHA in the cerebrospinal fluid, there were no differences in the cognitive testing nor specific brain regions. That led the researchers to conclude omega-3 fatty acids were of no benefit for improving markers for brain health in spite of the increase in DHA within the brain itself.

Are those comments warranted? And was that the real purpose of the study? We’ll take a deeper look in Saturday’s memo.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

AWAV-Brain

P.S. Go beyond omega-3s to protect your brain and keep it working at peak power with the Protecting Your Brain webinar replay—only $9.95; Member and Insider discounts apply.

Reference: https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.ebiom.2026. 106316

Does Diet Soda Increase Appetite?

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“Diet soda may prompt food cravings.” If you regularly drink diet soda with non-nutritive sweeteners such as sucralose, that headline would give you pause. Could drinking drinks with artificial sweeteners cause you to compensate later for being cheated out of calories? That’s what researchers attempted to find out in a very complex study conducted at the University of Southern California.

When I say complex, here’s what I mean. The researchers used an MRI to perform brain scans in response to photographs of different types of foods and non-foods. The 74 subjects were all tested under three conditions: after drinking 300 mL (1.25 cup) of water, 75 grams of sucrose (sugar) mixed in 300 mL water, or 300 mL of a sucralose drink matched for sweetness to the sucrose drink. Blood was tested before and after drinking the fluid at regular intervals up to two hours afterward. Then the subjects were allowed to eat as much as they wanted at a snack buffet with high-fat, high-sugar choices as well as healthy choices.

The researchers found differences in the way men and women responded to the drinks as well as the way normal, overweight, and obese subjects responded, both in the brain scans and in how much they ate at the buffet: obese women responded by eating more at the snack buffet than men or other weight classifications.

Is it time to stop drinking diet soda? A little more information from the study would be helpful before you clean out the fridge and go buy a case of Coke.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Allison Aubrey YOUR HEALTH NPR. Diet soda may prompt food cravings, especially in women and people with obesity. October 7, 2021.
2. JAMA Network Open. 2021;4(9): doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.26313