Health Alert 90
Americans have heard of the health benefits of fish and fish oils. As a result, fried fish sticks, fish nuggets, and fish burgers have made a home in American cuisine. You may have chosen these fish products in an attempt to eat more heart healthy. But, before you order the fish sandwich from McDonalds, there is more you should know.
I have said that a couple of servings of fish per week can lower your risk of heart disease, help your eyesight and maintain brain health. But I also caution about fast food fish because is contains vegetable oils with the wrong kind of fats. Now, I have just read a new study that found that not all fish lower your risk of heart disease. The key is how your fish is cooked.
A study just published in Circulation followed 4,000 participants and took blood samples for an average of 9 years. Researchers found that those who ate fried fish failed to show the expected heart protection. 1
* The Giant Experiment with Your Food *
A few decades ago, science connected saturated fat such as lard with heart disease. Americans began to stop buying saturated fats. In response, the food industry tried switching to unsaturated fats. But unsaturated fats spoiled easily. The food industry needed a Twinkie to withstand sitting on a shelf for a month.
Food manufacturers found that a process called “hydrogenating, would allow unsaturated fats to have the profitable longer shelf-life. But the hydrogenation process produced trans fatty acids in the oil. Trans fatty acids don’t occur naturally so eating these modern inventions is a huge experiment with unpredictable consequences. Today our diet is full of trans fatty acids. They are in everything from margarine to breakfast cereals, to potato chips.
In 2001, Lancet published a Dutch study, which measured the effects of consuming trans fatty acid. Researchers studied the eating habits of over 600 participants. They found that increased trans fatty acid intake was significantly associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. 2
Yet, the most heart healthy fat is omega-3 fatty acids found in fish. Omega-3s are also essential for proper functioning of your brain.
* Select Fish Fat and Pass on Processed Vegetable Fat *
When you put this all together there is nothing contradictory. It’s simply the kind of fat in the fish that matters. If you take fish and drown out the heart healthy Omega-3’s with heart unhealthy hydrogenated vegetable oils you cancel out the protective value of the fish.
If you want to brush up on the importance of omega-3s, read Health Alerts 25 and 86. Fish with the highest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids include:
• Salmon
• Rainbow Trout
• Herring
• Sardines
You can help protect your heart by eating fish, but not with a fast food fish sandwich. Eat fresh, non-fried fish a couple times a week. Select fish cooked without trans fatty acids. Some of my favorites are:
• Steamed
• Grilled
• Broiled
• Poached
• Oven roasted
Al Sears, MD
1 Mozaffarin D. et al., Cardiac benefits of fish consumption may depend on the type of fish meal consumed. Circulation 2003; 107: 1372-1377
2 Oomen C. at al., Association between trans fatty acid intake and 10-year risk of coronary heart disease in Zutphen Elderly Study. Lancet 2001; 357: 746-751