Fish Scales Back Risk of Disease
Stalking a tuna on the high seas. Fly-fishing in an icy mountain stream. For many men, no pastime is more gratifying than reeling in a big catch. Yet, how often does the average guy open a restaurant menu and wonder, “Gee, should I have the salmon almondine or Chilean sea bass?” Not nearly often enough, according to a couple of recent studies that underscore the importance of fish in the male diet.
In August, the journal Circulation published a report of a French research study involving more than 5,000 middle-aged men that found that having high levels of circulating free fatty acids is bad for the heart. Fatty acids are released from fat cells for use as energy by muscles. But the French study found that men who appeared otherwise healthy, but who had the highest levels of these circulating, or “free,” fatty acids were 30% more likely to suffer sudden cardiac death than men with modest levels. This fatal heart stopper, which kills 250,000 Americans each year, occurs when the heart begins beating erratically, a condition known as arrhythmia.
So what’s the fish angle? An editorial accompanying the French study explains that one type of fatty acid--the kind found in seafood--is actually good for your ticker. So-called omega-3 fatty acids stabilize electrical activity in the heart, which prevents arrhythmia, says the editorial’s author, Dr. Alexander Leaf of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Many of the men in the Circulation study were probably “deficient in their intake of omega-3 fatty acids, like most people in western and industrialized countries,” Leaf said in an interview. Fortifying the body with frequent doses of omega-3s protects the heart from the sinister effects of free fatty acids, he explains. A 1998 study of more than 20,000 men supports this theory; in that survey, men who ate fish at least once a week cut their risk for sudden cardiac death in half.
Not surprisingly, cardiologists have become big fish fans in recent years. Last fall, the American Heart Assn. declared that eating fish twice a week can help prevent heart attacks.
Dark, fatty varieties such as salmon, lake trout, sardines and mackerel are the richest sources of omega-3s. Along with its ability to regulate heart rhythm, fish oil also seems to prevent potentially lethal blood clots. Omega-3s may be especially beneficial for people with a history of heart trouble. Several studies have shown that heart attack survivors cut their risk for a second attack if they add fish oil to their diets.
Swedish researchers asked more than 6,000 men to describe their diets, then checked back with them 30 years later.
Men who ate little or no seafood were two to three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than men who ate a moderate amount (defined as one or two meals a week) of fatty fish. Eating fish more often seemed to offer the same benefits.
Dr. Paul Terry, the study’s lead author, explained that omega-3s appear to “block certain parts of the cancer-causing process” by altering levels of critical hormones, suggesting that fish oil may also play a role in preventing other hormone-sensitive cancers, including breast and endometrial cancers.
This study, published in June in the Lancet, a leading British medical journal, is one of the first to hint that eating fish might lower the risk of prostate cancer. Terry cautions that more research is needed to confirm the benefits of eating fish. In other words, the results of his study could be a red herring. “It may be that men who eat lots of fish eat less of some other food that is harmful,” he said.
Of course, instructing Americans to eat more fish is one thing. Getting us to do it is another matter. We consume about eight times more red meat than fish. Leaf says fish-phobes can get their omega-3s from fish oil capsules sold in vitamin stores. Although no one is sure how much is necessary to combat heart problems, he says two to three grams a day is probably on target.
The AHA, however, said it is still best to get those healthy omega-3s from finned food rather than pills. Both Leaf and the AHA agree, on the other hand, that consuming fish oil won’t do much good if your diet also includes too much artery-clogging saturated fat from meat and dairy products.
Leaf also suggests cutting back on many sources of polyunsaturated fat, such as corn oil, which is commonly found in salad dressings and used in cooking.
The fatty acids in corn oil can increase the risk of arrhythmia, Leaf says. He names canola oil, a rich source of omega-3s, as a good alternative. Flaxseed oil is another omega-3 powerhouse.
I hated fish as a kid, but today I find a broiled salmon fillet or grilled tuna steak to be just as palate-pleasing as any variety of farm-raised protein.
If you’re a dedicated meat-eater, there has never been more reason to put your dietary preference out to pasture now and then and take the plunge.
