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Study says eating fish is good for the heart
Source: Agencies |
November 30, 2010, Tuesday
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THE benefits of eating fish to improve the health of your heart may outweigh concerns over the negative impact of increased exposure to mercury from the foodstuff.
But restrictions are still needed in connection with fish with a high mercury content, said a Swedish team of researchers, whose results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Maria Wennberg, a public health researcher at Umea University in Sweden, and her team studied more than 900 men and women who answered questions about the amount of fish in their diet. The team also analyzed the subjects' red blood cells for levels of mercury and selenium.
Mercury levels were generally low for Scandinavians, but people whose red blood cells showed higher amounts of mercury did not have a higher risk of developing cardiac problems.
"The protective nutrients in fish override any harmful effect of mercury at these low levels," Wennberg said.
The American Hearth Association recommends that people eat at least two servings of fish a week. Salmon, mackerel and albacore tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to lower the risk of heart disease.
But some questioned the findings, with David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany, saying that the researchers had assumed the mercury in the subjects' blood had come from fish.
Wennberg said that the drawbacks of relying on the subjects' memories about the amount of fish consumption could also have an impact on the results.
They said one finding warranted more study: subjects whose red blood cells had elevated traces of selenium appeared to be at increased risk of cardiac death.
But restrictions are still needed in connection with fish with a high mercury content, said a Swedish team of researchers, whose results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Maria Wennberg, a public health researcher at Umea University in Sweden, and her team studied more than 900 men and women who answered questions about the amount of fish in their diet. The team also analyzed the subjects' red blood cells for levels of mercury and selenium.
Mercury levels were generally low for Scandinavians, but people whose red blood cells showed higher amounts of mercury did not have a higher risk of developing cardiac problems.
"The protective nutrients in fish override any harmful effect of mercury at these low levels," Wennberg said.
The American Hearth Association recommends that people eat at least two servings of fish a week. Salmon, mackerel and albacore tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to lower the risk of heart disease.
But some questioned the findings, with David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany, saying that the researchers had assumed the mercury in the subjects' blood had come from fish.
Wennberg said that the drawbacks of relying on the subjects' memories about the amount of fish consumption could also have an impact on the results.
They said one finding warranted more study: subjects whose red blood cells had elevated traces of selenium appeared to be at increased risk of cardiac death.
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