Benefits of eating fish outweigh risks

One day we're told a type of food is good for us and the next day scientists tell us it's bad. We've seen it happen with eggs, coffee, juice and even milk.

Many studies have shown the nutritional benefits of eating fish. Fish is high in protein and omega3 fatty acids, which are good for our hearts and immune systems and for children's brains. But concerns have been raised in recent years about chemicals found in fish from environmental pollution, including mercury, PCBs and dioxins.

That has led to confusion among the public. Do the risks of fish outweigh the benefits? Two new medical studies have tackled this question, concluding that putting one to two servings of fish on your table each week can benefit your health.

Eating fish is now being definitively associated with reduced risk of cardiac death, lower total mortality and improvements in child brain development. More important, the benefits outweigh risks from the contaminants that have been found in some types of fish.

A new report by the Harvard School of Public Health concludes that that the benefits of eating a modest amount of fish-about three ounces of farmed salmon or six ounces of mackerel a week- reduced the risk of death from coronary heart disease by 36 percent. It also concluded that ingesting fish or fish oil reduces deaths from any causes by 17 percent.

For its part, the Institute of Medicine, which advises the government on health, is similarly advocating Americans to eat more fish, concluding that fish aids the heart and helps brain and eye development in babies and children.

"Overall, for major health outcomes among adults, the benefits of eating fish greatly outweigh the risks," said Dariush Mozaffarian, lead author of the Harvard study.

The researchers concluded that these health benefits are greater from oily fish like salmon and bluefish, which are higher in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, than from lean fish such as haddock and cod.

The authors even found that infants and children could obtain these benefits from pregnant or nursing mothers who consumed fish.

In order for children to obtain the benefits of fish but minimize the potential risk of mercury, the investigators recommend that women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children eat up to two servings per week of a variety of fish. Recommended fish include salmon, light tuna, shrimp, mackerel and up to six ounces per week of albacore tuna.

They should, however, avoid four species of fish: golden bass (also known as tilefish), king mackerel, shark and swordfish. These larger, predatory fish have higher levels of mercury.

This advisory is not for the general population.

The researchers conclude that the benefits of eating one to two servings of fish a week greatly outweigh the risks among adults and, except for a few species of fish, women of childbearing age.

"It is striking how much greater both the amount of the evidence and the size of the health effect are for health benefits, compared with health risks. Seafood is likely the single most important food one can consume for good health," said Mozaffarian.

This story is provided by State Point Media.