Health food of the year - fatty fish containing Omega-3

by rpshen | August 5, 2008 at 08:56 am

1345 views | 9 Recommendations | 31 comments

Fish seems to be the healthiest food around. A quick Google search shows many positive research results, such as reduced risks in heart disease, eye disease, asthma, stroke, and most recently, it is found that fatty fish can help prevent memory loss too!

One would think that eating fatty food would increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases but this research shows otherwise.

People who ate baked or broiled -- but not fried -- fish high in omega-3 fatty acids have been found to be less likely to have "silent" brain lesions that can cause memory loss and dementia and are linked to a higher risk of stroke, said Jyrki Virtanen of the University of Kuopio in Finland.

"Previous findings have shown that fish and fish oil can help prevent stroke, but this is one of the only studies that looks at fish's effect on silent brain (lesions) in healthy, older people," Virtanen, who led the study, said in a statement.

Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and in other foods such as walnuts. They have been shown to provide an anti-inflammatory effect and have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

The Finnish team studied 3,660 people aged 65 and older who underwent brains scans five years apart to detect the silent brain lesions, or infarcts, found in about 20 percent of otherwise healthy elderly people.

The researchers found that men and women who ate omega-3-rich fish three times or more per week had a nearly 26 percent lower risk of having silent brain lesions.

Eating just one serving per week led to a 13 percent reduced risk, compared to people whose diets did not include this type of fish, the researchers reported in the journal Neurology.

"While eating tuna and other types of fish seems to help protect against memory loss and stroke, these results were not found in people who regularly ate fried fish," Virtanen said.

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Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:14 on August 5th, 2008

rpshen, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Good fat and bad fat! The problem may be now the fact that our fish stocks are already depleated and we may have to live with out eating fish due to over fishing and pollution as well!

JeffHuang

at 15:17 on August 5th, 2008

There sure are some good sashimi pictures. Fish (when prepared properly) is one of the best food out there to eat, a close second behind steak.

HANA BEE

at 15:29 on August 5th, 2008

Yellowfin tuna for sale in a wet market, Makati, Manila. Yellowfin tuna are sadly in danger of being overfished...

HANA BEE has contributed a photo to this story.

esharar

at 15:46 on August 5th, 2008

Allen Sharar shows off his Skipjack Tuna in Puerto Vallarta.

esharar has contributed a photo to this story.

Natalie without an h

at 16:31 on August 5th, 2008

Although sushi in the form we Westerners know to be Japanese food, it isn't an every day staple for most Japanese - special occasions, yes. Rather, fish in all it's forms and a variety of preparations, is a regular part of their diet. While travelling Japan for a few weeks this summer, I was noticeably aware of the hih numbers of active and highly mobile seniors - I'm talking 80 and 90-year olds. I've anecdotally concluded, there has to be a connection to the diet.

Natalie without an h has contributed a photo to this story.

Criticom

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:56 on August 5th, 2008

rpshen, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Thomas Allard

at 17:08 on August 5th, 2008

Tukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan.

Sadly, the slow reproducing monsters of the sea such as red tuna are over fished. New trends toward sushi and the Mediterranean diet are only contributing to their decline. The best alternative would be to eat farmed fish such as salmon. Preferably vegetarian farmed fish such as tilapia.

Thomas Allard has contributed a photo to this story.

clarkemp3

at 17:22 on August 5th, 2008

I was fishing with my Dad on a quick afternoon trip, the day before finals actually (Oh yeah, I studied well). We were lucky enough to catch this little Blackfin Tuna. He sure tasted great when we cut him up into little pieces, cooked it for about 30 seconds, and had fresh seared sushi for dinner!

By the way, my picture is the one where I'm holding the tuna.

clarkemp3 has contributed a photo to this story.

kcfoo24

at 18:08 on August 5th, 2008

Photos taken from Tsukiji Fish Market Japan.

Able to go in for the auction but had to stand at special place to avoid disturbing them.

yosoymai

at 22:24 on August 5th, 2008

Very interesting information!
Congratulations, great work! =)

yosoymai has contributed a photo to this story.

amataiclaudius

at 22:26 on August 5th, 2008

These tuna fish were caught off the North Coast of Jamaica. I saw them for sale on Pagee Fishing Beach in Port Maria.
I never knew we had tuna in the Caribbean, so I learned something new that morning.

amataiclaudius has contributed a photo to this story.

Henry and Tersia

at 23:31 on August 5th, 2008

The fishermen at Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia, go out with their boats, fitted with enormous lights, in the late afternoon to catch fish. When they return they pack their catch in these large containers filled with ice.

Henry and Tersia has contributed a photo to this story.

gisela gerson lohman-braun

at 23:45 on August 5th, 2008

In February 2008 we were at the fish market at Muscat in Oman. The fishermen sold a variety of fish to the public, the fishermen were very friendly. I have never seen a fishmarket as clean as this one. This Tuna fascinated me as I did not know that Tunas had yellow fins.

Gisela Gerson Lohman-Braun, Netherlands

gisela gerson lohman-braun has contributed a photo to this story.

gisela gerson lohman-braun

at 23:48 on August 5th, 2008

see my comment I sent before.

hitthatswitch

at 03:29 on August 6th, 2008

That is a lot of tuna. Fresh from the Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan.

hitthatswitch has contributed a photo to this story.

kellykathryn

at 07:42 on August 6th, 2008

Freshly steaked tuna from the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Nothing better!

kellykathryn has contributed a photo to this story.

zari1

at 11:50 on August 6th, 2008

I took this photo in the Tsukiji fish-market in Tokyo. This person was picking the pieces of tuna meat in between the bones, not wasting any bit of the great fish. The Japanese use every piece of tuna.

zari1 has contributed a photo to this story.

gh0sthunter

at 11:39 on August 7th, 2008

I took my photos at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan in July of 2008. I managed to slip into the restricted area for about 10 minutes or so.

gh0sthunter has contributed a photo to this story.

tomherb

at 14:47 on August 6th, 2008

This Blackfin tuna was caught in June of 2008 in the northern Gulf of Mexico, about 70 miles south of Galveston, Texas. It, and its schoolmates caught on this trip, were delicious on the grill.

tomherb has contributed a photo to this story.

goofygags

at 16:53 on August 6th, 2008

This was just one of dozens of Yellow Fish Tuna we caught during our fishing trip off the coast of Broome, Western Australia on the Charter Boat "Real Teaser". Pictured left is our Deck Hand, Mr Hama Gucci and Mark "Jacko" Jackson of Melbourne. Its a great Photo that reflects happiness and excitement on the seas, outside of the Roally Shoalls:

goofygags has contributed a photo to this story.

clairelynn

at 17:29 on August 6th, 2008

This photograph was taken at the tuna auction at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, Japan. The Tsukiji Market is the largest wholesale fish market in the world.
Auctions for the tuna take place around 5:30 am each morning.

clairelynn has contributed a photo to this story.

cassy82

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:18 on August 6th, 2008

rpshen, I like this story. It's good stuff.

rpshen

at 10:14 on August 8th, 2008

Thank you to everyone for the amazing photos!

The Seiuchi

at 13:05 on August 8th, 2008

At the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, vendors prepare and sell thousands of sea creatures (many still crawling) every day. Here some are chopping up massive tuna with axes. Most vendors use dry ice to keep the sea food fresh, although it is already fresh enough.

This is a common sight under the roof of the Tsukiji Fish Market. I was lucky to be here with friends from Hong Kong.

The Seiuchi has contributed a photo to this story.