Eating Fish Boost Heart Health of Young Women

Women of childbearing age can reduce their risk of heart problems by regularly eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, said a Danish study published on Monday. The study is the first to examine younger women, aged 15 to 49, and determine whether fish in their diet has an impact on their current likelihood of heart problems, instead of their longevity.

Women who rarely or never ate fish faced a 90 per cent higher risk of heart problems than those who ate fish weekly. When researchers looked at hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease in three different assessments over a 30 week periode, they found it was three times higher among women who did not eat fish. The findings, published in Hypertension : Journal of the Smerican heart association, are based on a Danish study  of 49,000 women with a median age of 30. Women were interviewed by phone about their family history, lifestyle and fish consumption, and were tracked over the next eight years.

Dr. Martin Strom, lead reasercher and post-doctoral fellow at the centre for fetal Programming at Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, remark, they saw a strong association with cardiovascular disease in the women who were still in their late 30's. The biggest challenge in getting health messages like this across to younger populations is that usually the benefits  may not be evident for 30 or 40 years, but our study shows this is not the case.

Women most commonly reported eating cod, salmon, herring and mackerel, all of which are high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and believed to protect againts heart and vascular diseases. The study focused exclusively on dietary intake of fish ot supplements with fish oil. Women who eat fish should find the results encouraging, but it is important to emphasise that to obtain the greatest benefit from fish and fish oils, women should follow the dietary recommendations to eat fish as a main meal at least twice a week.