Mercury, oils from fish at odds in heart health

Posted by admin

September 6, 2012

Omega-3 fatty acids and mercury, both found in fish, appear to have opposite affects on heart health, according to a northern European study.

Researchers, whose conclusions were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at data from more than 1,600 men from Sweden and Finland to find that men with high levels of mercury in their body had an increased risk of heart attacks, while those with a high concentration of omega-3s had a lower risk.

Fish are considered part of a healthy diet, but the balance between potential risks and benefits from the two compounds is not clear.

Researcher Maria Wennberg said that while the study can’t clarify cause and effect, there are ways to get fish oil naturally without getting a lot of mercury too.

General

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.