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Properties and Uses of Fish
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Fish Ain’t fishy
Fish provides complete protein, and is packed with many nutrients such as vitamins A, D, and K (not all types of fish have all vitamins) and minerals such as iodine, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, copper, and phosphorus. But most of all, fish contains the miracle substances called omega-3 fatty acids, a fancy name for the kind of fat found in fish oils which is unsaturated and very good for regulating your cholesterol.
The difference between saturated and unsaturated fat is very simple if you think about butter and oil. When butter gets cold it turns hard and solid — that’s saturated fat — and what it does to your arteries is clog them up. Oil stays liquid; that’s unsaturated fat and the kind you need to keep the blood running through your body smoothly.
Now, if a fish had the kind of fat in its body that was like butter, it would turn into a solid lump that couldn’t swim in cold water. Instead, it has fat that stays liquid in very cold temperatures, which is good news for the fish — and very good news for you, too!
Healthy Hearts Four Ways
Fish is one of the most heart-healthy foods you can eat. It helps the heart four ways: One, by preventing blood clots; two, by lowering blood pressure; three, by balancing cholesterol; and four, by lowering triglycerides.
All this good news came out in 1985 when the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a series of studies connecting fish to healthy hearts. Scientists noted that coronary heart disease was lower in populations that included large amounts of fish in their diets, such as the Eskimo, Japanese, and Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest.
Blood Clot Prevention: Research at the University of Lund in Sweden connected the omega-3 fatty acids in fish to the prevention of blood clots that can lead to heart attacks (and strokes). Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered that a substance called thromboxane in fish oil actually changes the shape of blood cells so that they can’t lock together to form a clot. Studies at Harvard concluded that as little as 6 1/2 ounces of tuna could thin the blood (thus preventing clotting) as effectively as taking an aspirin.
Blood Pressure Reduction: High amounts of potassium and a low sodium content keeps blood pressure down. Scientist Peter Singer, Ph.D., of Berlin, Germany, credits fish for lowering his blood pressure from 140/90 to 100/70. Studies in Denmark conclude that three servings of fish per week are all that’s needed to keep blood pressure on an even keel. However, if you have high blood pressure and want to try eating fish as a remedy, you still need to monitor it closely with your doctor to make sure this works for you.
Cholesterol and Triglyceride Reduction: Studies in Japan are credited with discovering the fish link to good cholesterol. Yasuo Kagawa at Jichi Medical School in Japan reported on studies that show that the good type of cholesterol (HDL) is high in Japanese people who eat a lot of fish. Conversely, the bad type of cholesterol (LDL) was proven by scientists working with William E. Connor, M.D., at the University of Oregon to be lowered by as much as 20 percent in 10 days on a diet that included salmon oil. An added bonus was a drop in dangerous blood triglycerides by as much as 67 percent.
In addition, a substance known as ubiquinone (sold in capsules as a supplement as coenzyme Q10 and referred to as Co Q10) is one of the best antioxidants known to detoxify bad cholesterol, according to Harvard researcher Balz Frei. Sardines and mackerel both contain ubiquinone. It is often recommended by health-food specialists that Co Q10 be taken when on cholesterol lowering statin drugs because the drugs can block the body’s own natural supply. If you take this supplement while taking statins, be sure to still monitor your cholesterol with your doctor.
Arrest Arthritis Pain
The same wonder substances that keep your heart healthy, omega-3 fatty acids, also foster the production of prostaglandins in your body. Although these prostaglandins usually cause inflammation and a flareup of rheumatoid arthritis pain, the kind that are produced as a result of eating fish do not.
One study using fish oil capsules was conducted by Joel M. Kremer, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Albany Medical College in New York. Thirty-three arthritis sufferers took fish capsules for 14 weeks. Joint tenderness was reduced by at least one-third, and the test subjects reported 2 1/2 hours more relief from fatigue. The fish oil capsules amounted to the equivalent of 7 ounces of salmon.
Fight Cancer
Fish is a much healthier choice for protein than red meat. In fact, a study of 90,000 women conducted by Walter Willet, M.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health found that colon cancer was cut by 25 percent in those people who ate fish two to four times a week. Red meat, on the other hand, seemed to cause a staggering rise in colon cancer—up to a rate of 250 percent.
In other tests conducted at the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health in Washington, D.C., fish oil has been shown to prevent and reduce tumors as well as keeping them from spreading.
And that includes breast cancer, according to studies at Rutgers University by Dr. Rashida Karmali. Women at high risk for breast cancer were given fish oil supplements equivalent to what Japanese women consume from fish in their diet. Early indications of breast cancer development were completely inhibited in the test subjects.
Reduce Symptoms of Psoriasis
Try eating fish to stop the pain and itching of psoriasis. A study in Sheffield, England, at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital used fish oil capsules to treat psoriasis sufferers. The result was markedly less severe symptoms, though it took about eight weeks. The amount of fish oil given was approximately equivalent to five ounces of mackerel a day.
But other studies have not proven to be as conclusive. It is thought that the anti-inflammatory qualities of the fish oil should have a positive effect on psoriasis, but it did not seem to work every time. I know of no test, however, that has been conducted using real fish rather than fish oil capsules. Capsules may not be as reliable a source as the real thing. If you have psoriasis, try fish first. Give it a few weeks, then make up your own mind as to its benefits.
Breathe Freely with Fish
Did you know that Eskimos have a very low incidence of asthma? It may be all that crisp, cold air, or it may be because they eat so much fish. Many studies have been conducted to test the effects of fish oil on asthma sufferers. The anti-inflammatory agents in fish are thought to work as effectively as antihistamine in preventing attacks.
Joel Schwartz, Ph.D., conducted a study for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that determined that fish-eaters in the United States had a lower rate of asthma. Again, not all tests were conclusive, however. One test even indicated that fish oil made asthma worse in patients who were mildly allergic to aspirin. But once again, the tests were conducted using fish oil capsules rather than a daily amount of fish. Eskimos don’t get fish oil capsules—they eat the real thing!
Can Fish Help Migraines?
It may seem surprising, but there is evidence to suggest that eating fish can cut migraine frequency in half for many sufferers. Research conducted by Dr. Timothy McCarren of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine found that fish oil capsules reduced the number of migraines by 50 percent in over half of the test subjects. It takes about six weeks to notice improvement, however, and for some reason, it seemed to work more effectively for men.
Fish for Lupus Sufferers
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammations that flare up from time to time causing symptoms from pain to rashes. It is important for lupus sufferers to avoid saturated fats that can lead to flare-ups of the disease. It is also very important to eat fish because of its anti-inflammatory qualities. A test conducted in England with 27 lupus patients proved that those taking fish oil capsules did better over a period of 34 weeks than those in the placebo group.
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