My understanding is that fish are relatively high in omega-3 fatty acids. I believe they're important in neuronal function and cardiovascular function. Regardless, the media took the 2 facts and conflated the two to say that eating fish = lots of omega-3 fatty acids = good neuronal health = become smart
You'll find that the media does this quite a lot - they take reputable scientific research and extrapolate it so far outside its intended use case that the resulting news report is complete garbage
Not sure what "brain food" is supposed to mean.
But pre-agriculture civilisations heavily relied on fish and were almost exclusivily found near coasts and rivers. So it's been a very important food source for humans since pre-history.
Since before I'm born, and I'm in my mid 30s. My mother always said eating fish, especially those with bones, are good for the brain because near the bones you find phosphorus in higher concentrations, which is good for your neurons and memory.
All that omega stuff is much newer though, but for me fish has always been "brain food"
That is one yes. But also the tissue attaching the flesh to the bones. This means any fish, you don't need to eat the bones themselves but you get more bang for your buck if you cook it with the bones.
All this might be ol wives tales of course, but as far as reputation for brain food goes, that's it
I have heard that eating fish brains is very healthy because they contain lots of healthy fats and phosphorus. (incidentally, my mom and my grandpa used to tell me this!) We always eat bony fish anyway.
I don’t know but I can tell you something about fish that’s pretty interesting. In northern parts of the world like Scandinavia there’s not much UV radiation during winter months. Our bodies need UV to produce vitamin D and we can have serious health defects (like rickets) without it.
At some point it was recognized that eating fish, particularly those rich in Vitamin D, made people much healthier. So it was codified into their culture and traditions to eat these healthy fish. Often with preparations that would preserve the fish and its vitamin D content throughout the winter.