Women with diabetes appear to receive the heart-healthy benefits of a diet rich in fish, as recently reported by researchers. Among women with diabetes, a condition that places them at especially high risk of cardiovascular disease, the more fish they ate, the less likely they were to develop heart disease over a period.
Women with diabetes appear to receive the heart-healthy benefits of diet rich in fish, as recently reported by researchers. Among women with diabetes, a condition that places them at especially high risk of cardiovascular disease, the more fish they ate, the less likely they were to develop heart disease over a period. Currently, it is recommended that adults eat at least two servings of fish each week. As further support for this recommendation, research has shown that fish, especially fatty fish such as tuna, salmon and sardines that contain omega-3 fatty acids have protective effects on the cardiovascular system. Researchers have found that these substances can lower the risk of developing an irregular heart rhythm and blood clots, and can reduce levels of fat in the blood known as triglycerides, all risk factors for heart disease. Researchers at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, reviewed dietary information submitted between 1980 and 1996, and looked at which women with type 2 diabetes developed heart disease. All of the 5,103 women included in the current study had type 2 diabetes, a form of the condition linked to obesity. The women were participants in the Nurses' Health Study, in which they completed questionnaires every two years describing their eating habits and lifestyles.
They found that the biggest reduction in risk was seen in women, who ate fish at least five times per week; they were 64 percent less likely to develop heart disease than women who seldom ate fish. Relative to women who ate fish less than once per month, women who reported eating fish between one and three times per month were 30 percent less likely to develop heart disease. The risk of heart disease dropped by 36 percent among women who reported eating fish between two and four times per week, relative to less frequent fish-eaters. The relationship between eating fish and heart disease risk remained even after removing the influence of other risk factors for heart disease. Women who ate more fish were in general eating a more healthy diet and were more active.
Circulation, April 2003; Vol. 107(12)
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