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Just Like Your Mother Told You: Eat Fish, It's Good For You!
By Gilbert Ross, M.D.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms what doctors and mothers have long known: fish is good for health.
This will come as news only to those "toxic fish" alarmists at the Environmental Working Group, Consumers Union, and Environmental Defense, whose campaigns against fish are largely based on animal studies. But this new study's conclusions match up with those of the U.S. EPA and the FDA recommendations.
Researchers from Harvard's Medical School and School of Public Health pooled data from over 200 studies dealing with fish and its relation to cardiovascular health in adults, as well as to neurodevelopment in infants and health risks of various contaminants (mercury, PCBs, and dioxin). Their fairly riveting conclusions: for moderate intake of fish -- one to two servings per week -- cardiovascular risk declined by 36%, while overall mortality was down by 17%. While they agreed that women who are or may soon be pregnant, or are nursing, and children under twelve years, should be advised to avoid fish known to harbor the highest levels of contaminants.
In general, however, the study findings show that several portions of other fish varieties weekly actually improves the health of newborns and infants from mothers who consume the recommended types. (See ACSH's reports on mercury, PCBs, and Traces of Environmental Chemicals.)
Although the usual anti-fish groups were quoted ranting about the dangers of fish toxins and being aghast at the Harvard researchers' assertions, this study was quite comprehensive.
Gilbert Ross, M.D., is the Executive and Medical Director of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
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