Is that fish you are eating?

Man evolved eating EPA and DHA omega-3 fats from fish. We learned omega-3s were dietary essential fats in the early 1900’s. We observed that omega-3s from fish significantly reduced heart disease in the early 1970’s. Today we know substantially more. We know that omega-3s from fish can reduce risk for sudden cardiac death and simple supplementation can measurably reduce triglyceride levels and normalize blood pressure; we’ve seen relationships between omega-3s and mental health, including the association between too little omega-3s and more homicide and suicide attempts. We’ve seen omega-3 supplementation improve learning in children. We know that omega-3s are required for normal development of brain and eyes and we think that omega-3 intake over our lifetime may reduce dementia. We even know that taking omega-3 supplements along with regular exercise can reduce body fat. We have trusted fish to be a reliable source.

And now we are learning that fish we are farming does not have much omega-3 (not only does it have less omega-3, it has more omega-6, the fat we want to reduce). What are we doing to ourselves? Perhaps more importantly, what are we doing to the health of our country and our future?

To quote directly from research published this week in the American Journal of the American Dietetic Association (Weaver, et al), “tilapia (the fastest growing and most widely farmed fish) and catfish have much lower concentrations of n-3 PUFA, very high ratios of long chain n-6 to long chain n-3 PUFAs, and high saturated fatty acid plus monounsaturated fatty acid to PUFA ratios.” See abstract of article The content of favorable and unfavorable polyunsaturated Fatty acids found in commonly eaten fish

Current dietary goals are to: Increase omega-3 fats, reduce omega-6 fats, improve the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio in our diet, and consume less saturated fat. The opposite of the profile of tilapia, mentioned above.

If you choose to eat tilapia, consider it more like chicken.