Eat Your Fish – It’s Good for You.

The revelation that fish is good for you is not exactly breaking news. Still, over the past few years a rash of stories about toxins in fish may have caused you to wonder if fish is as good as it’s cracked up to be.

Two recent studies looked at this issue in an effort to determine if indeed the nutritional benefits of fish consumption outweigh any potential hazards from toxins, especially mercury and PCBs.

Harvard University’s School of Public Health announced the results from what it called “the single most comprehensive analysis to date of fish and health. Their study, the school said, was “the first review to combine the evidence for major health effects of omega-3 fatty acids

One study, which was commissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the federal agency which oversees our fisheries, was conducted by the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences. The goal of this report was to cut through the confusion and give consumers a clear message: Should you eat fish or not?

Although they took 600 pages to explain their findings, the clear answer, the scientists decided, is yes. "The high nutritional quality of seafood makes it an important component of a healthy diet," the study concluded. The scientists went on to recommend that Americans eat three ounces of fish twice a week. If they followed that advice, Americans would be eating more fish than they do now. In 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available, Americans ate 16.6 pounds of fish a year. If they ate 6 ounces a week, that number would jump to almost 20 pounds.

The Institute’s report also recommended that consumers exercise caution when eating large migratory fish such as shark, tuna and swordfish, which have relatively high levels of mercury compared to most fish, which have little or no mercury. Women who are pregnant, or planning to get pregnant, and children under 13 should avoid these species, the report advised. The study also recommended consumers vary the types of seafood they eat to avoid exposure to potential contaminants from a single source.

The same week that the National Academy of Sciences weighed in on the benefits of eating fish, Harvard University’s School of Public Health announced the results from what it called “the single most comprehensive analysis to date of fish and health. Their study, the school said, was “the first review to combine the evidence for major health effects of omega-3 fatty acids, major health risks of mercury, and major health risks of PCBs and dioxins in both adults and infants/young children.”

The study concluded that a regular diet of fish, which included as little as three ounces a week of a heart-healthy fatty fish like salmon, reduced the risk of heart disease by 36 percent.

Again the results were crystal clear. The study concluded that a regular diet of fish, which included as little as three ounces a week of a heart-healthy fatty fish like salmon, reduced the risk of heart disease by 36 percent. The study also concluded that a diet that includes fish or fish oil reduces total mortality deaths from any causes by 17 percent. “Overall, for major health outcomes among adults, the benefits of eating fish greatly outweigh the risks," said the lead author of the study. "Somehow this evidence has been lost on the public."

One reason that evidence has been lost on the public is that some environmental groups, who are very adept at getting their message out in the media, continue to urge consumers to avoid fish from fisheries (i.e., tuna and swordfish) they feel are not environmentally sound. And to do that, they play the toxic card. So it was not surprising to hear environmental groups deride the recent studies.

“We think they missed the boat," said a spokesperson for Oceana, a marine habitat advocacy group. The Institute of Medicine report “attempts to undermine government advice by downplaying the mercury risks, especially with regard to children and America's No. 1 most heavily consumed fish: tuna."

So while consumers may continue to receive mixed messages from the media, the scientists agree with what your mother always knew. Eat your fish – it’s good for you.

All the Best,
Peter Redmayne
President
Simply Seafood®

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