Consuming broiled or baked fish on a weekly basis can help improve brain health, no matter how much or how little omega-3 fatty acids it has.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine involved data from 260 individuals who offered information on their weekly fish intake, and underwent brain MRI scans. The participants answered questions regarding their eating habits, including the amount of fish they consume and how it is prepared.

Those who ate baked or broiled fish at least once per week had more grey matter brain volume in parts of the brain that are responsible for cognition and memory.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, about five million Americans live with Alzheimer’s and dementia. With such cognitive ailments placing a huge burden on health care and families of Alzheimer’s patients, determining a way to slow the progression of this disease is of paramount importance.

Senior study investigator James T. Becker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine, believes that lifestyle factors, including the consumption of fish prepared in a healthy manner, is important to the contribution to changes in the brain, and not necessarily just biological factors.

“Our study shows that people who ate a diet that included baked or broiled, but not fried, fish have larger brain volumes in regions associated with memory and cognition. We did not find a relationship between omega-3 levels and these brain changes, which surprised us a little. It led us to conclude that we were tapping into a more general set of lifestyle factors that were affecting brain health of which diet is just one part,” said Becker in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.