Evaluating the Risks and the Benefits
SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF PIO-neering studies demonstratinglow rates of death from coro-nary heart disease (CHD) among Greenland Eskimos,1 fish (used herein to refer to finfish or shellfish) has been considered a healthy food. Dur-ing ensuing years, evidence from sev-eral researchparadigms—includinga...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.692.8677 http://jama.jamanetwork.com/data/Journals/JAMA/5045/JCR60006.pdf |
| Summary: | SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF PIO-neering studies demonstratinglow rates of death from coro-nary heart disease (CHD) among Greenland Eskimos,1 fish (used herein to refer to finfish or shellfish) has been considered a healthy food. Dur-ing ensuing years, evidence from sev-eral researchparadigms—includingani-mal-experimental, observational, and clinical studies—further supported this hypothesis and identified 2 long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), as the likely active constitu-ents.2-20 DHA also appears important for neurodevelopmentduringgestationand infancy.21-26 Conversely, concern has arisen over potential harm from mer-cury, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in some fish species.27-34 The public is faced with seemingly conflicting reports on the risks and benefits of fish intake, result-ing in controversy and confusion over the role of fish consumption in a healthy diet.35,36 To elucidate the relative risks and benefits, we reviewed the scien-tific evidence for adverse and benefi-cial health effects of fish consumption. |
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