Fishy Facts

Eating fish has been shown to be beneficial in preventing/treating many conditions including:

Heart disease:

According to the British Heart Foundation, eating oily fish can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and improve your chances of survival if you do have a heart attack. It does this by lowering levels of fats called triglycerides in the blood – raised levels are associated with heart disease. Fish oils also appear to help reduce blood clotting and abnormal heart rhythms after a heart attack.

Alzheimer's disease:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids found in many fish may prevent damage to brain cells as well as keeping the heart healthy. Eating fish can also reduce the risk of high blood pressure, which is linked with dementia. A French study that followed 2,000 people showed that those who ate seafood at least once a week had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia over a seven-year period than those who didn't.

Cancer:

A Swedish study of 6,000 men over a 30-year period showed that those who didn't eat any fish had somewhere between doubled and trebled their risk of developing prostate cancer, as against those who ate moderate or large amounts. Shellfish, such as crab and lobster, also contains selenium, thought to have cancer-fighting properties.

Depression:

It's been reported that fish can help to ease depression. Again, it's down to Omega-3 fatty acids, which are believed to raise levels of the brain chemical serotonin.

Arthritis:

Population groups that eat a lot of fish – Inuits in Greenland, for example – have low rates of inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Studies have also shown fish oils to be useful in relieving the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.