EART FOOD 



By Nancy Davis 



Old wisdom held that seafood was brain food. Then nutritionists discovered 

 that it beat beef as a mainstay in the American diet. Now doctors tell us that a 

 good thing is even better. 



Seafood is heart food. 



So says The New England Journal of Medicine in its May 9, 1985, edition. 



New evidence shows a link between seafood consumption and a low death 

 rate from heart disease. For years, doctors have known that seafood is low in fat, 

 calories and cholesterol and high in protein and minerals. But they warned 

 against seafoods with a high fat content such as salmon, tuna and mackerel. 



Now they say these fish are not only safe to eat, they're urging us to replace 

 meat and poultry with fish and shellfish at least twice a week. 



The report made the front pages of the country's major newspapers, and 

 television network news covered the story. Eat fish to your heart's content was 

 the message, and the nation's seafood lovers took the advice to heart. 



In 1984, per capita consumption of seafood in America was 13.6 pounds. By 

 1985, it had risen to 14.5 pounds. 



Oils in the seafoods contain fatty acids that can lower harmful fats and 

 cholesterol in the blood and reduce blood clots. The ultimate benefit may be a 

 lower risk of heart disease and stroke, says Sea Grant's Joyce Taylor. 



Doctors had suspected the relationship between seafood consumption and 

 coronary health. In societies such as the Greenland Eskimos, in which seafood 

 composed most of the diet, heart attacks were virtually unknown. 



With this in mind, a group of doctors set out to find the link. They studied 852 

 middle-age men without heart disease in the Netherlands. The researchers 

 collected dietary information on their subjects in 1960 and studied them for 20 

 years. In the two decades, 78 men died from heart disease. 



The clincher: "Mortality from coronary heart disease was more than 50 per- 

 cent lower among those who consumed at least 30 grams of fish per day than 

 among those who did not eat fish," the doctors say in the Journal article. 



"We conclude that the consumption of as little as one or two fish dishes per 

 week may be of preventive value in relation to coronary heart disease." 



The study discovered the unique character of fats in seafoods, says Taylor. 

 Fish and shellfish contain high levels of polyunsaturated fats, those capable of 

 lowering cholesterol levels. Saturated fats found in red meat increase cholesterol 

 levels in the blood. 



For example, 4 ounces of boiled cod contain .1 to .2 grams of saturated fat. 

 The same amount of ground beef contains about 11 grams. 



Studies show that for every 1 percent reduction in cholesterol level, we get a 2 

 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack, Taylor says. 



Oils made from corn, cottonseed, safflower, sesame seed, soybean and sun- 

 flower also are high in polyunsaturated fats. But seafoods contain a special class 

 of the fats, called omega-3 fatty acids. 



The omega-3's help to reduce the chance of heart attack by reducing fatty 

 deposits that collect on artery walls. Omega-3's occur only in the oils of fish or 

 marine animals. Oily, fatty fish are the richest sources. Of course, eating fattier 

 fish may mean consuming a few extra calories. 



But Taylor says, "Even the fattiest fish contain less fat than red meat." 



With the new evidence, fish oils are touted as a cure-all for everything from 

 high blood pressure to migraine headaches. 



Taylor says, "I get scared when people say, Tf I eat fish twice a week, I'm not 

 going to have a heart attack.' " 



Smokers, for example, still run a greater risk of heart attack. 



The best approach is to improve your diet, increase exercise and stop smoking. 

 The benefit of fish oil comes from substituting it for the foods that promote heart 

 disease, Taylor says. 



