Health Benefits of Wild Alaskan Seafood

Health Benefits

Salmon photo courtesy of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

Eating a diet centered around wild salmon and the other seafood we provide can reduce your risk of heart disease by 75% and extend your life expectancy by 3 to 9 years.

According to a new scientific study published in the British Medical Journal, the "Polymeal" (a menu that includes wine, cold water wild fish, dark chocolate, fruits, vegetables, garlic, and almonds) promises to be an effective, safe, cheap, and tasty solution to reducing cardiovascular morbidity and increasing life expectancy.

Calculating the combined effect of the ingredients by multiplying their risk estimates and applying the effects to the cohort from the original Framingham heart study, Franco and colleagues (British Medical Journal, 18 December, 2004, p 1447) found that the "Polymeal" could reduce cardiovascular disease by more than 75%.

For men, taking the "Polymeal^"daily represented an increase in total life expectancy of 6.6years, an increase in life expectancy free from cardiovasculardisease of 9.0 years, and a decrease in life expectancy withcardiovascular disease of 2.4 years. The corresponding differencesfor women were 4.8, 8.1, and 3.3 years.

For details see: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/329/7480/1447
Omega-3s, the so-called "good cholesterols", can clean out your arteries; improve intelligence, concentration and mood; and reduce inflammation. The highest levels of Omega-3s are found in wild Pacific salmon. There are five species of Pacific Salmon. In order of decreasing levels of Omega-3s, they are: king (or chinook), pink, sockeye, coho (or silver salmon) and chum. Our seafood cuts the risk for heart disease (our nation's number one killer), cancer, Alzheimer’s, stroke, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The nutrients found in our fish and shellfish products help the body heal after cancer treatments, and ward off auto-immune conditions, allergies, asthma, migraines and skin conditions. For these reasons a panel of experts recently convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has now recommended eating seafood 4 to 7 times a week see below).

Wild Salmon is also Good for the Brain
The following article was published in the The New York Times' Science Times.

The Claim: Fish Is Brain Food

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

THE FACTS Some old bromides - like the one that holds that chocolate causes acne - were just plain wrong.

But when it comes to one piece of dietary advice that many of us were brought up on, the old wisdom prevails: fish is apparently food for the brain.

Like many old wives' tales about food and eating, how this claim got started is not entirely clear.

Some believe that it may have grown out of a theory that humans evolved in coastal areas because certain nutrients in fish, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, were necessary for brain development.

But whatever the origin of the claim, multiple studies have provided some evidence to support it. One study this year at Harvard, which looked at 135 mothers and their infants, found that the more fish the mothers ate during their second trimesters, the better their infants did on tests when they were 6 months old.

But the researchers urged mothers to stick to canned light tuna or salmon while steering clear of shark, swordfish and other types of fish with high mercury levels.

Another recent study, published in December in The Archives of Neurology, looked at adults. It found that elderly people who ate fish at least once a week did better on tests of memory and mental acuity than their peers who did not, and had a 10 percent slower decline in mental skills each year.

Dr. John A. Boockvar, an assistant professor of brain surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, recommended eating fish at least twice a week.

"Unless it's fish that has a lot of mercury, it's not going to harm you," Dr. Boockvar said. "And we know it improves brain functioning."

THE BOTTOM LINE Fish is good for the brain.

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Eat Seafood 4 - 7 Times per Week

MEDIA RELEASE -- 26 March 2006

EXPERTS IN PEAK US SCIENCE BODY CONFIRM HEALTH BENEFITS OF SEAFOOD: ADVICE TO “EAT SEAFOOD 4 TO 7 TIMES A WEEK”

A PANEL of experts convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has confirmed the health benefits of seafood. In fact, a recommendation has emerged to eat seafood not just the usually suggested two to three times a week but instead four to seven times a week.

"The best science coming out over the last two years has overwhelmingly been in favor of the benefits of seafood consumption," said panel chair Professor Michael T. Morrissey, from Oregon State University's Department of Food Science & Technology.

“The evidence still suggests that seafood plays a role in reducing coronary heart disease – and new studies suggest that it may reduce the onset of Alzheimer's as well as other mental illnesses,” Dr Morrissey said.

In a statement released by AAAS during its annual meeting late last month (February 2006), he said US federal government guidelines for pregnant women and young children on mercury should be followed.

“But young children and pregnant women should still eat 12 oz (340 g) a week of a variety of fish to be sure to get the important nutrients – especially Omega-3 fatty acids,” Dr Morrissey said. "For the rest of us, I would recommend eating fish four to seven times a week."

Those guidelines were echoed by Professor Michael Crawford, Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry & Human Nutrition at the London Metropolitan University. "There is more and more evidence showing the role of seafood consumption in brain evolution, development and mental health," Dr Crawford said.

Here, the AAAS statement was welcomed today by Mr Roy Palmer, Deputy Chair of Seafood Services Australia (SSA), who is working to alert the Australian public to the health benefits of seafood.

“Omega-3 oils - the so-called ‘good oils’ in fish and other seafood - can clean out your arteries, improve intelligence, concentration and mood, and reduce inflammation,” Mr Palmer said. “Studies have shown seafood consumption to help people live longer, healthier lives. Seafood cuts the risk for heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, stroke, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The nutrients found in fish and shellfish help the body heal after cancer treatments, and ward off auto-immune conditions, allergies, asthma, migraines and skin conditions. The curative properties of Omega-3 oils from seafood are amazing and SSA is dedicated to spreading that message.”

Further details:

Mr Roy Palmer, 0419 528 733
SSA Managing Director, Mr Ted Loveday, 0427 323 663.

The AAAS release is at http://www.eurekalert.org/aaasnewsroom/2006/index.php

Also see the SSA website http://www.seafood.net.au/health