Concentrations of PhIP in fish vary widely according to the type of fish and method of cooking. One study reported levels ranging from 1.7 to 73 nanograms per gram in salmon cooked at 200°C by various methods (Gross and Grüter, 1992). The human brain grows and develops very rapidly during the first year of life, tripling in size by the age of one. The brain is largely made up of fat (over 60 per cent) and early brain development and function in humans requires a sufficient supply of polyunsaturated EFAs. For humans, the omega-6 fat arachidonic acid and the omega-3 fat DHA are essential for brain development and functioning.
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- This is an incredibly important proviso which seriously challenges the idea that fish is ‘healthy’.
- From the initial reception area to leaving hospital was absolutely first class.
- One brand, Solgar Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, had levels of dioxins five times greater than the EU limits.
- The possibility of a simple and sustainable plant-based solution can no longer be ignored.
- For example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to act as free radical scavengers (Merry et al., 1991).
- This could mean considerable health risks for those who regularly eat farmed salmon.
- Since then two specific polyunsaturated fatty acids have been classified as ‘essential’ as they cannot be manufactured within the body; they must be provided in the diet.
However, as stated previously, there is convincing evidence for a protective role of both omega-6 and omega-3 fats in MS (Harbige, 2003). The authors of this study suggested that disturbed omega-6 fatty acid metabolism in MS gives rise to a loss of both long chain omega-6 fatty acids in the membranes and anti-inflammatory cytokines, particularly during the relapse phase. Three years later, in an article published in the journal Circulation, Dr J. David Spence of the Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre at Robarts Research Institute in London, Canada, asked why the Lyon study was so neglected (Spence, 2002).
Dairy
Despite the constant barrage of fish-promoting marketing and hype, the UK public just don’t buy it! The FSA says that on average, people in the UK eat only a third of a portion of oily fish a week (FSA, 2004). Indeed, fish is so unpopular that the FSA admits that seven out of 10 people in the UK don’t eat any oily fish at all.
This is particularly worrying as they are increasingly popular as clever marketing persuades people to buy them. It has been suggested that PhIP produces harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species which cause DNA strands to break thus increasing cancer risk (Wilson et al., 2007). Alternatively, researchers at Imperial College in London have reported that PhIP is a potent mimic of the hormone oestrogen (Lauber et al., 2007).
After three months of treatment, results showed significant improvements in reading, spelling and behaviour among those receiving the fish oil supplements. The researchers concluded that fatty acid supplements may be a safe, tolerable, effective treatment for improving academic progress and behaviour among children with DCD. In other words, children who are not fulfilling their potential may benefit from increasing their intake of essential fatty acids.
- However, he says that their conclusion, that heart disease patients should be prescribed oily fish or fish oil supplements, has been seriously challenged by more recent research.
- Mature adults are more likely to gain excess weight, and so this should drop to 8-15%, with those with low activity levels or prone to obesity using the lower end at 8-10% dry matter.
- This unhealthy type of fat tends to come from animal-based food (particularly meat, poultry and dairy products) and processed foods (cakes, pastry and biscuits).
- It is also specified that 1% of the food needs to be linoleic acid, one of the essential fatty acids.
- So although eating oily fish reduced the risk of dying after a heart attack, it did not prevent a secondary heart attack.
- For example, MS is relatively common in the UK, North America and Scandinavia, but hardly ever occurs in countries such as Malaysia and Ecuador (NHS Direct, 2008c).
- It also describes what toxic substances are found in fish and reveals how harmful they can be.
- Another study found fish oil supplements increased life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms in patients with implanted defibrillators.
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Those obtaining more than 10 per cent of their dietary energy from omega-6 fats should not increase their intake of this fat. Most people need to increase their intake of omega-3s to provide two per cent of dietary energy. Less than one per cent of calories (but preferably none), should come from trans fats. COMA recommended that among the general population there should be no further increase in average intakes of omega-6 fats but that intakes of long-chain omega-3 (EPA and DHA) fats should increase from about 0.1 grams to 0.2 grams per day (COMA, 1994). For example, as 60 per cent of the brain is made of fat, it is very important that it is provided with enough ‘bendy’ polyunsaturated fatty acids to stay supple and elastic in order to be able to respond to different stimuli such as hormones. If the cell membranes in the brain (and other parts of the body) are rigid they cannot react so well (Saldeen and Saldeen, 2006).
- It is generally accepted that omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory (Harbige, 2003).
- The fundamental question is how the obligations relating to the right to education undertaken by Member States under international and regional instruments are incorporated into national legal systems?
- The cause of MS is not yet fully understood but is thought to be an autoimmune disease (like rheumatoid arthritis or type 1 diabetes) whereby the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues having ‘mistaken’ them for an invading (foreign) protein.
- Starch is broken down to produce glucose (a type of sugar) which is used by the body for energy.
- The links between the carbon atoms are called bonds and can be single or double.
- The essentiality of ALA and LA in humans is best explained by our inability to introduce double bonds in positions before carbon nine (Uauy et al., 2003).
- HCAs form when a chemical found in muscles called creatine reacts with amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and sugar at high temperatures.
What happens if dogs get the wrong amount of fat?
Rather than looking for a magic bullet, improving the quality of school meals and education about diet and health would perhaps have been a better approach. Too much iron in the blood can encourage the production of free radicals (McCord, 2004). Unlike the non-haem iron we find in plant foods, haem iron in meat is absorbed into the body whether it is needed or not. Thus meat can supply an overload of iron (but no vitamin C and very little vitamin E). Conversely, vegetables and wholegrains foods can supply as much or as little iron as is required, as well as an abundance of protective antioxidant vitamins, fibre and other nutrients.
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Dietary recommendations, he suggests, should be based on diets similar to that used in the Lyon study. If more people knew that they could produce sufficient amounts of EPA and DHA from ALA they might be less inclined to turn to potentially decaying and contaminated fish oils. The research indicates that the only thing vegetarians and vegans miss out on by avoiding fish is the toxic pollutants that contaminate them. Poorly designed diets are thought to reduce the rate of conversion as both energy and protein are needed to drive the enzymes that convert EFAs.
What are fats?
Some studies suggest that dairy foods are neutral for heart health but as yet there is not enough evidence to advise low or full-fat dairy. A study by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found that only one-third of the brands marketed there fell within the limits, which define levels of dioxins permitted in fish oils and fish oil capsules. One brand, Solgar Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, had levels of dioxins five times greater than the EU limits. The best-performing was Eskimo-3 Stable Fish Oil Supplement, which was well within the limit and also contained low levels of PCBs, a related chemical. Food Safety Agency researchers found in 1997 that fish oil could make “a significant contribution to dietary exposures to dioxins”.
- So excessive intakes of omega-6 fats can cancel out the positive effects of omega-3s and lead to health problems.
- In other words, the pollutants in fish and fish oil supplements taken over time may cancel out the beneficial effects of the omega-3 fats they contain.
- Feeding a diet which is too high in fat can lead to obesity, heart disease and liver problems.
- Rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 350,000 people in the UK and like osteoarthritis, is also more common in women than men.
- Food Safety Agency researchers found in 1997 that fish oil could make “a significant contribution to dietary exposures to dioxins”.
- Table 6 shows the amount of omega-3-rich food you can take to achieve the recommended daily intake (along with a well-balanced plant-based diet).
- For longer-range forecasting, the ensemble seasonal forecasting system SEAS5 feeds products like the EU’s European and Global Flood Awareness Systems (EFAS and GloFAS).
Omega-3s from algae – cut out the middleman
The EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) run by ECMWF uses global and regional air quality ensembles for atmospheric monitoring. For longer-range forecasting, the ensemble seasonal forecasting system SEAS5 feeds products like the EU’s European and Global Flood Awareness Systems (EFAS and GloFAS). Ensembles are also commonly used for the communication of climate scenarios such as the International Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) emission scenarios. The widely publicised supposed health benefits of omega-3 fats from fish, together with dwindling supplies of fish caught from the wild, have spawned a dramatic expansion in aquaculture (farmed fish).
Swank prescribed a low-saturated fat diet to patients with relapsing-remitting MS and observed how their conditions progressed. Results showed that those who adhered most closely to the diet derived the greatest benefits from the intervention. The beneficial effects were strongest in those who began to follow the diet early in their disease. Plant-based diets tend to contain considerably less saturated fat and more healthy polyunsaturated fats.
- Improving our diets by cutting out the foods laden with animal fats, sugar, salt and cholesterol and eating more fruit, vegetables, pulses, wholegrains, nuts and seeds.
- I would also recommend that you read carefully the call-out pack that you will have received from the MOD, which contains useful information on these matters.
- It is most common after the age of 40, but can affect people of any age (NHS Direct, 2008b).
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) carries excess cholesterol back to the liver for excretion and is therefore called ‘good’ cholesterol.
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) takes cholesterol from the liver to the cells and is often referred to as ‘bad’ cholesterol because when levels are high, it can accumulate on the walls of the arteries.
- Even if people did start to consume more, the oceans simply cannot cope with any more demand, and as we have seen, farmed fish is definitely not the solution.
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease characterised by recurrent breathing problems. The UK has one of the highest prevalence rates for asthma in the world, along with New Zealand, Australia and Ireland. Around one in eight children and one in 20 adults are currently being treated for asthma in the UK. In multiple sclerosis (MS), the protective sheath (called myelin) that surrounds the nerve fibres of the central nervous system becomes damaged. Sclerosis means scarring and multiple refers to the many different sites at which the scarring may occur in the brain and spinal cord. Demyelination interferes with the messages that are sent between the brain and other parts of the body.
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Methylmercury is the organic form of mercury found in the environment, usually as the result of industrial pollution. This toxin is commonly found in the marine environment and accumulates up the food chain particularly in older, larger fish. Exposure is particularly hazardous for unborn children where the main organs and the CNS are still developing.
It is easy to get nutrient levels wrong when feeding a home-cooked diet, which could accidentally make things worse. If the condition is diagnosed, it is not curable but can be managed through long-term medication. This oral medication contains a synthetic thyroid hormone replacement which needs to be given every day. Regular blood tests and checkups are needed to make sure that dosing is correct. Ranking higher on Google can significantly boost your website’s visibility, leading to increased traffic and potential customers.
Using cheaper vegetable-based feeds drives up the level of omega-6 fats found in the fish. Farmed tilapia (the most rapidly expanding fish in terms of world and US consumption), contain some of the highest levels of the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid found in our food chain (Weaver et al., 2008). These and other farmed fish have a fatty acid profile that would generally be considered as unhealthy. Indeed, marked changes in the fishing industry during the past decade have produced widely eaten fish that have fatty acid characteristics that are generally accepted to be inflammatory by the health care community (Weaver et al., 2008).
A large number of vegetarian and vegan studies show that plant-based diets offer numerous health benefits, including the prevention and therapy of many chronic diseases including arthritis (Leitzmann, 2005). Since vegetarian and vegan diets are more sustainable, environmentally and economically, they certainly deserve more consideration in both the prevention and treatment of disease. This message needs to filter down from the peer-reviewed studies into our hospitals, schools, workplaces and homes.
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Fish is not a popular food; on average people in the UK eat only a third of a portion of oily fish per week with seven out of ten people consuming none whatsoever. We should stop looking for a ‘quick miracle fix’ and focus on the bigger picture. Improving our diets by cutting out the saturated fatty foods laden with animal fats, sugar, salt and cholesterol and eating more fruit, vegetables, pulses, whole grains, nuts and seeds. These findings are consistent with evidence that omega-3 fatty acids are important for brain function and that low omega-3 intake may have negative effects on behaviour, learning and mood. It is important then to make sure that there are adequate levels of these important nutrients by supplying sufficient ‘parent’ fatty acids for conversion.
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However, the research clearly shows that ALA from plants can protect heart health and doesn’t come laced with poison. Plant-derived EFAs have numerous advantages over fish-derived fats yet are virtually ignored by health professionals. The VVF is trying to address this by pushing for more research including plant-derived ALA alongside the fish oils EPA and/or DHA.
As stated, wholefoods are superior source of fats as they contribute many other nutrients to the diet. A conservative estimate is that about 5-10 per cent of ALA is converted to EPA, and 2-5 per cent to DHA (Davis and Kris-Etherton, 2003). Even a person with no omega-3 fats in their body, (perhaps after a long-term dietary shortfall) who takes two tablespoons of flaxseed oil a day, can produce more EPA than contained in two large fish oil capsules. A dog in pup should be fed a normal young adult diet for their first two-thirds of pregnancy. And fat content can be increased up to around 20%, especially for giant-breed dogs and those with large litters.
Dementia and diet
During this time 232 women suffered a fatal heart attack and 597 a non-fatal attack. Those who consumed the most ALA had a 45 per cent lower risk of fatal heart disease. The risk was further lowered among women who also took vitamin E supplements or who had a lower intake of trans fatty acids. The authors concluded that higher consumption of foods such as oil-based salad dressings that provide polyunsaturated fats, including ALA, may reduce the risk of fatal heart disease. The increase in heart disease, arthritis, allergies and other health problems has encouraged some scientists to investigate the role of diet in these and other diseases. Many people cannot tolerate the taste or smell of fish oils, even when provided in capsules.
People with diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis or inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis) should use caution if taking flaxseed (but not flaxseed oil) due to its possible laxative effects. If you have a medical condition, or are taking other drugs or supplements you should consult a doctor or nutritional therapist before changing your diet. Oily fish have fats throughout their whole body rather than only in the liver like non-oily (white) fish.
Healthier options for grilling and frying include soya burgers, veggie sausages and Portabella mushrooms. They do however point out that the research supports the inclusion of vegetable oils (soya bean, rapeseed, walnut and flaxseed oils) and food sources (walnuts and flaxseeds) high in ALA in a healthy diet for the general population. Another study found that supplementing the diet with borage oil (containing GLA) led to the accumulation of natural inhibitors of leukotrines (hormones that cause the symptoms of asthma) within inflammatory cells (Chilton et al., 2008).
The reason for this is not fully understood, but it could be that MS is triggered by a particular bacteria or virus which thrives in cooler climates. Alternative theories suggest that components of particular foods consumed in these countries may be responsible. Other forms of arthritis include ankylosing spondylitis, cervical spondylitis, fibromyalgia, lupus, gout, psoriatic arthritis and Reiter’s syndrome (NHS Direct, 2008). There is evidence that changing the diet can help some people with inflammatory conditions; some of these are link discussed below.
Research suggests that some components in food can act as causative agents of autoimmune disease. For example, there is strong evidence that proteins found in cow’s milk can trigger an autoimmune response leading to type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible children. The theory with MS is that proteins from certain foods (such as cow’s milk) may also prompt the immune system to respond inappropriately and attack the myelin sheath in the brain and central nervous system. A large body of evidence shows that populations that consume high quantities of animal-based foods seem to be most affected by MS (Agnello et al., 2004).