Eating 150 g of fish, such as salmon or cod three times a week, or taking fish liver oil daily, can improve health variables, like body weight, blood lipids, inflammation and oxidative status. Omega 3 fatty acid levels in membranes present a good correlation with diet, showing that consumption of either lean or fatty fish species, might have an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. A novel finding is that a moderately calorie-restricted cod-based diet was found to facilitate weight loss, while also helping improving on oxidative stress markers. Seafood does not seem to decrease bone loss, which is generally found in weight loss processes.
Authors: Narcisa M. Bandarra1, J. Alfredo Martinéz2, Mairead Kiely3, Gertjan Schaafsma4 and Inga Thorsdottir5
1The National Research Institute on Agriculture and Fisheries Research, Lisbon, Portugal
2The Department of Physiology and Nutrition, University of Navarra, Navarra, Spain
3Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
4TNO Nutrition and Food Research, the Netherlands & Wageningen University, the Netherlands
5Unit for Nutrition Research, Landspitali-University Hospital & Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland (project leader)
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