Fat fish prevents diabetes and heart disease

Fat fish prevents diabetes and heart disease

28.03.2011

Fat fish protects against diabetes and heart disease. Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center have found this out in a joint study with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

The diet with high-fat fish such as salmon or sardines, according to a study among the aborigines Alaska has a diabetes and heart disease preventive effect. Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks have examined approximately 330 Yup'ik Eskimos from a remote region of southwestern Alaska as part of their study. Due to their special diet, the Eskimos eat around 20 times more omega-3 fatty acids than the average US citizen.

Omega-3 fatty acids protect against diabetes and heart disease
The diet, which is essentially based on high-fat fish, has a clear preventive effect on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, according to the scientists. Although around 70 percent of the Eskimos examined were overweight, the diseases often associated with obesity, such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, however, are much less common than the average, the researchers report. According to chief writer Zeina Makhoul of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, „It looks as if the high consumption of omega-3 rich seafood protects the Yup'ik Eskimos from some of the harmful consequences of obesity“. For example, only 3.3 percent of Alaska aborigines studied were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, while on average 7.7 percent of the US population suffered from type 2 diabetes. In addition, the subjects had a significantly lower content of triglycerides and C-reactive proteins, which are considered to be significant for the risk of heart disease such as heart attack. The study with the aborigines Alaska was particularly suitable for the analysis of the connection between the diet by high-fat fish and the risk of certain illnesses, since the eating habits of the Eskimos are based substantially on appropriate fish and so one „unique opportunity“ to investigate the relationship between fish fatty acids and diseases, researchers report.

Fish as part of a healthy diet
In view of the recurrent food scandal in the meat industry, fish is also enjoying growing popularity in Germany. In the past, fish was considered to be an essential part of a healthy diet, especially due to its high protein content of 15 to 20 percent and the various minerals and vitamins it contains. For example, fish can contain vitamins D and B12, potassium, zinc, fluorine and iodine, with a particularly high proportion of iodine, especially in saltwater fish. The health-promoting effect of the high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3 fatty acids, has also been investigated more frequently. According to the latest study results, however, this seems to be more far-reaching than previously assumed. The omega-3 fatty acids contribute, according to the researchers to a significant reduction in the risk of certain diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Even before the current study, some positive effects of omega-3 fatty acids such as strengthening the immune system, lowering blood pressure and stimulating metabolic processes in nutritionists were known.

Fat content of fish species varies greatly
However, the fat content of the different fish species is extremely diverse and far from all fish food, which are offered for consumption in this country, contain as much fat as the usual Eskimos fish meals. For example, sardines, tuna and salmon have a fat content of more than ten percent, but other fish such as cod, pike, perch or flounder contain only one percent of fat. It should also not be forgotten that diets with particularly high-fat fish species significantly increase the risk of obesity. However, the positive health properties of omega-3 fatty acids seem to offset or even surpass the health-related disadvantages of being overweight, according to the researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in the journal „European Journal of Clinical Nutrition“ to report. (Fp)

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Image: Sebastian Karkus