Top Ten Reasons to Eat More Fish
By Robert Latkany, MDOctober 08, 2009
I have taken my kids fishing about a dozen times. I bought them two nice fishing rods, an assortment of fish bait and lures, but have caught a grand total of zero fish, unless of course you count a hapless horseshoe crab. Although my kids were mildly suspicious of my fishing skills, I blamed our bad fishing luck on worldwide fish shortages. They never believed me, because after each fishing trip we went to
local fish market where the fish were plentiful.
We eat wild salmon about twice a month, along with flounder or gray sole, calamari (squid), shrimp, and on rare occasions, lobster, scallops, clams and mussels. All fish and seafood contain important nutrients, but many contain high levels of essential fatty acids, vitamin D, selenium, and vitamin B12. Fatty cold water fish and shellfish, in particular, are nutritional powerhouses, with canned salmon, pickled herring, canned sardines, and raw oysters, leading the pack.
Here's the top ten reasons why you should add fish and shellfish to your diet:
10. Stave off Depression: Bountziouka et al found the more fish you eat over your lifetime the less likely you will be depressed in your old age.
9. Stay Smart: Solfrizzi et al suggest that the more fish you eat the less likely you will develop dementia and cognitive decline.
8. Avoid Asthma: The more fish or fish oil you eat, the less likely you will develop asthma symptoms according to Laerum et al.
7. Keep Rheumatoid Arthritis at Bay: Rosell et al determined that eating one or more servings of oily fish per week reduces your chance of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis by 20%
6. Strengthen Your Bones: The greater the sea fish intake the greater the bone mass and less likely you will develop osteoporosis according to Chen et al in a study conducted with post menopausal women.
5. Keep Your Heart Ticking: Bierregaard et al determined that men who ate an average of at least 6 grams of fatty fish per day had a reduced likelihood of developing acute coronary syndrome of almost 33%.
4. Lower Your Risk of Stroke: Mozaffarian et al found that the more consumption of baked or broiled fish the less likely you will develop an ischemic stroke but the more you ate fried fish the greater your chance of a stroke.
3. Reduce Your Chances of Breast Cancer: Kim et al determined that eating fatty fish or fish oil supplements significantly reduces the risk of developing breast cancer in pre and post menopausal women.
2. Keep Your Vision: Eating 1 serving of fish per week reduces your risk of developing macular degeneration (one of the leading causes of blindness) by more than 30% according to Tan et al.
1. Live Longer: Turunen et al found that fishermen and their wives had lower mortality rates from all causes compared to the general population from the same region.
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