Fishing for Better Health: The Benefits of Fish and Other Food
Sources High in Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Spring is well under way and summer is fast approaching. It's
time for kids to take out their roller blades for carefree treks
down boardwalks and sidewalks. Dads will rummage through closets
for dormant baseball caps and to see if last year's uniform
still fits. If not playing ball he'll watch from the sidelines,
or from the comfort of his favorite chair. Moms, time to don old
jeans, stock up on sunscreen, and get out the fishing poles. You
heard me, ladies. Fishing poles! It's time to fight back!
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), stroke is the
third leading cause of death in women. Every year an estimated
97,000 American women will die as a result of stroke.
Statistically, every 53 seconds stroke will victimize someone in
America. Of an estimated 600,000 stroke victims each year about
160,000 die as a result. There is, however, an easy way to
drastically reduce these statistics.
Findings in a 14-year-long study of nearly 80,000 American women
indicate that eating a 3.5 ounce serving of fish, two to four
times a week, lowers stroke risk by 27 percent. The more fish
consumed, the more impressive the percentages. Although few
large-scale studies have examined this particular issue in men,
experts say there is no biological reason results of such
studies would differ.
The American Medical Association (AMA) published the study
results in their January journal, 2001. There is conclusive
evidence that consumption of fish high in omega 3 fatty acids
hold significant health benefits, including reduced thrombotic
infarction -- a type of stroke where a blood clot blocks an
artery in the brain, resulting in destroyed brain tissue. (Blood
clots are responsible for more than 80 percent of all strokes.)
Fish are a high source of omega 3 fatty acids, nutrients that
help prevent the formation of clots, or "platelet clumping."
They do this by making blood less "sticky." As a result, risk of
thrombotic stroke is lessened, as well as risk of embolic
stroke, where the clot forms elsewhere in the body before
traveling to the brain.
Conducted at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston,
Massachusetts, the study revealed that women who ate fish once a
week reduced stoke risk by 22 percent; two to four times a week
by 27 percent, and five or more times a week by 52 percent.
Unfortunately, the average American woman only consumes about
1.3 servings of any type seafood weekly, at an average of 3.5
ounces per serving. Women are not eating enough fish!
Penny Kris Etherton, Ph.D., a heart disease researcher at the
State University in Pennsylvania, has long extolled the virtues
of eating fish for health purposes. "I clearly tell people to
eat fish and shellfish regularly to lower the risk of heart
disease."
National Fisheries Institute (NFI) President, Richard E.
Gutting, Jr., agrees. "The benefits of eating fish continue to
mount as more studies are conducted," he noted. Gutting also
said that women of all ages "should enjoy the variety and great
taste of fish and seafood on a regular basis."
How the fish is prepared is important, as omega 3 fatty acids
can be destroyed by heat, air, and light. NFI recommends not
overcooking the meat and the use of low fat cooking methods:
baking, broiling, poaching, steaming, stir-frying, grilling, or
saut