Debate Over Omega-6s Confuses Consumers

    Journal Articles Leave even some Seafood Scientists Scratching their

Heads



    WASHINGTON, July 15 /EMWNews/ -- A pair of articles

focusing on the fats in fish from the July issue of the Journal of the

American Dietetic Association is puzzling consumers and health

professionals alike. Fish, particularly oily fish, at least twice per week

is recommended as a front-line fighter against heart disease because it is

high in protein, low in total fat, and one of the only naturally-rich

sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. But a controversial article

claiming fish with lower amounts of omega-3s than omega-6s may be harmful

to heart health flies in the face of this recommendation.



    The article suggests hamburger and bacon might have more

heart-healthful properties than tilapia based solely on their lower omega-6

content.



    "There is an on-going discussion about these fatty acids, but it's a

dangerous reach to even suggest that replacing a meal of low-fat tilapia

with ground beef or bacon would be a healthful choice," said Jennifer

Wilmes a registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute.



    There is currently no scientific consensus that lower-omega-3,

higher-omega-6 fish are unhealthy. William Harris, PhD devotes a three page

research editorial in the same July edition to challenging the theory,

pointing out that it "fails to consider relevant human experimental

evidence" and attacks the dramatic comparison of tilapia to hamburger and

bacon, calling it a "potentially flawed concept" that overstates the impact

of omega-6.



    "We need more science to agree on the impact of an omega-3 to omega-6

ratio," said Wilmes. "But what we do have scientific consensus on is that

omega-3s - which you can get plenty of by eating a variety of fish - are

paramount to heart disease prevention."



    For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its

members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable

seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit:

http://www.AboutSeafood.com.