Eating oily fish guards against heart attack, renal cancer

Eating fish that is rich in oil prevents
kidney and heart diseases.Prevention, they say, is better and cheaper than cure. Many diseases would be avoided by eating the right food at the right time. Certain diseases like heart problem, bone disease as well as arthritis can be prevented by regularly eating oily fish, reports Seye Adeniyi.

FOLLOWING the recent speculation that there was going to be an increase in the price of fish in the country, many people have been expressing fear and displeasure about this intending price increment. There have also been several criticisms both from members of the public as well as from medical experts, especially nutritionist and dieticians asking government not to allow the price of fish to be jerked up because many Nigerians depend on fish as their source of protein for healthy living.

Medical practitioners like Drs. Funke Ojo and Adebiyi Akinpelumi, all of Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan; Adeolu Adesanya, Adeolu Ajala of Immaculate Hospital, Ibadan, Ismail of Jericho Nursing Home, Ibadan, have all expressed their displeasure about the intending increase in the cost of fish in the country. Even alternative medical practitioners like Drs. Nurudeen Animasaun and Olufemi Adekunle, have also appealed to federal government not to allow the speculation about increase in prices of fishes to become a reality, adding that many Nigerians depend on these aquatic animals not only for nutritional benefit, but also as a source of good health because fish especially, those rich in oil have benefitcial chemicals that boost the health of common people.

Dr. Nurudeen Animasaun stated that as small as those aquatic animals seem to be, they very important in the treatment of certain medical conditions, like fertility problems, inflammation, arthritis just to mention a few. He further explained that fish rich in oil contain certain active chemicals which are very useful in the correction of certain medical problems in men as well. “If the prices are increased and become unaffordable for many Nigerians, the multiplier effects will be very enormous on the nutritional and medical status of many people. Don’t forget that certain fish oil are extracted and used for the production of certain medications.

For example, Omega-3 fatty acids are useful in the treatment of some health conditions, so government should look into the issue seriously,” he advised. Similarly, scientists in their continuous research to find lasting solutions to some infections and diseases using active chemicals in the body of aquatic animals like fishes have also revealed that anybody who wants to avoid cancer of the kidneys, heart diseases (i.e. cardiovascular diseases) as well as arthritis and inflammation of joints, should eat fish like salmon or other types of fish rich in oil. In a recent study carried out by scientists at Karolinska Medical Institute in Sweden, it was discovered that people who eat fatty fish gain significant protection against renal cancer and women tend to gain more from this dietary habit. The research also showed that regular consumption of fish, at least one portion of fatty fish a week reduced the risk of renal cancer by 74 per cent. This assertion has also been previously proven in those who ate fatty fish a week during the period of 1987 to 2004.

The group who ate fresh fish at least once a week but for whom follow-up information were unavailable according to Professor Alieja Wolk saw a 40 per cent significant reduction. “However, this is the first time that a link between the consumption of fatty fish and renal cancer has been studied. The reason previous studies have been unable to demonstrate a link between fish consumption and renal cancer is that they made no distinction between fatty and non-fatty fish,” stated Professor Alieja Wolk, one of the scientists who worked on the study. Another significant difference between oily and non-oily fish also lies in how much Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D they contain substances that, according to earlier cell studies, seems to protect against cancer.

Fatty fish contain more Omega-3 fatty acids than non-oily fish and 3 to 5 times as much as vitamin D. Examples of fatty or oily fish that have greater ability to prevent renal cancer as recommended by the scientists include salmon, raw herring, sardines and mackerel whereas non-fatty fish include, cod and tuna, among others. In a similar manner, eating fatty fish, at least once a week, according to Darius a Mozaffarian, a fellow in cardiology and health services research at the University of Washington/Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Centre, lower the risk of dying from a heart attack especially in those above 60 or 70 years of age. According to the scientists, older people are less likely to die from a heart attack if they eat at least one serving of fatty fish per week. In contrast, eating fried fish which is typically lean was not associated with a lower risk of dying from a heart attack. Examples of lean fish are cod, catfish and snapper.

Darius Mozaffarian also reported that fish is thought to protect against death from heart attack because it contains good fats called Omega-3 (or n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Fatty fish are more abundant in Omega-3 fatty acids, while fried fish are typically lean fish without significant Omega-3 fatty acids. “Because these Omega-3 fatty acids may protect against dying from a heart attack, eating fatty fish may be of greater benefit than eating fried fish, he further advised.”

Not only that, individuals with a higher intake of oily fish had higher plasma levels of Omega-3 PUFAs. Many deaths from heart disease are due to cardiac arrhythmia, or heart rhythm disturbances and Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of arrhythmias, Mozaffarian counselled. Another medical expert, Roberto Marchioli, the head of the laboratory of clinical epidemiology of cardiovascular disease at Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, a research institute in Santa Maria, Imbaro, Italy, also reported about the life-saving benefit of n-3 PUFA found in oily fishes and how it can reduce episodes of potentially fatal irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmia in the journal of the American Heart Association. The doctor explained that for example, about 250,000 people in the United States of America die each year from coronary heart disease without reaching the hospital alive, however regular eating of oily fish he advised will guard against this sudden death.

Another professor of clinical medicine at Havard Medical School in Boston, Alexander Leaf, also talked about life-saving advantages of eating oily fishes. The Italian researcher stated that the body needs N-3 PUFA- an essential fatty acid to function properly because human body does not make them. “Since human beings body cannot produce n-3 PUFA, they must obtain them through food, which in the case of n-3 PUFA means regular eating of fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel. Medical experts like Marchioli and his colleagues in their study on the benefit people with heart problems stand to gain from eating oily fish reported that n-3 PUFA in fatty fish can prevent the problem of sudden death in patients with irregular heart beats and other heart diseases. According to the researcher, “the mortality benefit was mainly due to a reduction in sudden death.

Although how n-3 PUFA protects the heart is unknown, however, Professor Leaf and his colleagues in their study have shown that the fatty acids in oily fish play an important role in regulating the electrical activity of heart muscles cells. They also stabilise the heart muscle cells so that they can be very resistant to arrhythmias,” he stated. Professor Leaf also noted that these findings support a theory that an imbalance of n-3 PUFA and fatty acids called n-6 PUFA promote heart disease called arrhythmias.

He, however, suggested that adding n-3 PUFA to an already healthy diet, while reducing n-6 PUFA (which are abundant in plant seed cooking oils like corn, saflower, sunflower seed oils) improved the ratios of the two types of fatty acids, therefore, decreasing the risk of sudden death.

A dietician, Mr. Tunde Ajobo and a naturopath cum aphitherapist, Dr. Nurudeen Animasaun, have also advocated for the inclusion of oily fish in diet on several occasions. According to Ajobo, oily fish contain large amount of Omega-3 fatty acids which are needed by the body for smooth skin, healthy heart, sturdy and strong bones, as well as for healthy joint movement. Omega-3 fatty also benefit patients with cardiovascular disease.