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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eating fish better for heart, study finds

Knight Ridder

MILWAUKEE – Eating fish on a regular basis was linked with substantially lower levels of inflammation in the body, according to the largest study yet to find such a benefit.

The study also found that the fish could be small, lean varieties and did not have to be fatty, cold-water species, which contain the highest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

“It’s beginning to build a very strong case for increasing fish intake to reduce cardiovascular risk,” said Robert Wilson, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, not a part of the study.

The study, which involved more than 3,000 Greek men and women with an average age of about 45, used blood samples to measure levels of a variety of substances such as C-reactive protein that indicate the level of inflammation in the body.

It found that those who ate at least 10.5 ounces of fish a week generally had as much as 33 percent lower levels of the inflammatory substances, compared with those who did not eat fish. Those who ate between 5.3 and 10.5 ounces a week also had less inflammation than those who did not eat fish.

C-reactive protein and other markers of inflammation have been associated with heart disease, heart attacks and stroke. The substances are believed to play a role in the buildup of unstable plaques inside blood vessels.

In addition to a drop of 33 percent in C-reactive protein, the regular fish-eaters also had lower levels of other inflammatory substances, including 33 percent less interleukin-6; 21 percent less tumor necrosis factor-alpha; 28 percent less serum amyloid A; and 4 percent lower white blood cell counts.

The study, which was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also looked at levels of omega-3 fats and determined that the optimal level for reducing inflammation was 0.6 grams a day, the amount that might be found in one or two fish oil capsules or the amount found in just under 2 ounces in a mixed variety of fish.

In an e-mail, co-authors Antonis Zampelas and Demosthenes Panagiotakos speculated that consuming omega-3 fatty acids in the form of supplements, such as fish oil capsules, also can reduce inflammation.