The American Heart Association has released a new scientific advisory reaffirming AHA's recommendation to eat fish – especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids – twice a week. Eating two 3.5-ounce servings of non-fried fish every week can help reduce the risk of heart failure, coronary heart disease, cardiac arrest and ischaemic stroke. The advisory is published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

"Since the last advisory on eating fish was issued by the Association in 2002, scientific studies have further established the beneficial effects of eating seafood rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, especially when it replaces less healthy foods such as meats that are high in artery-clogging saturated fat," said Eric B. Rimm, ScD, chair of the American Heart Association writing group and professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

AHA's recommendation places emphasis on eating oily fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines or albacore tuna, which are all high in omega-3 fatty acids. The importance of environmentally sustainable fish farming techniques and other topics are also briefly discussed in the advisory, which was written by a panel of nutrition experts, who also reviewed studies about mercury in fish. Mercury is found in most seafood but is prevalent in large fish such as shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, bigeye tuna, marlin and orange roughy.

The writing group concluded that while mercury contamination may be associated with serious neurological problems in newborns, existing scientific research finds that mercury contamination does not have adverse effects on heart disease risk in adults. Therefore, the group explained, the benefits of eating fish substantially outweigh any risks associated with mercury contamination, especially if a variety of seafood is consumed.

A previously published American Heart Association advisory omega-3 fish oil supplements noted that the supplements are not recommended for the general public to prevent clinical cardiovascular disease because of a lack of scientific evidence regarding any effect on cardiovascular risk.

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References:

Rimm EB et al. on behalf of the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Clinical Cardiology (2018) Seafood Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease: A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association. Circulation. May 17, 2018; https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000574



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heart failure, coronary heart disease, American Heart Association, omega-3 fatty acids, fish The American Heart Association has released a new scientific advisory reaffirming AHA's recommendation to eat fish – especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids – twice a week. Eating two 3.5-ounce servings of non-fried fish every week can help reduce th