Eat Fish Twice A Week Or More To Drop Stroke Risk

Eating plenty of fish has been linked to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, especially if you eat oily fish like sardines and salmon. An international analysis of 38 studies now shows that eating fish twice a week lowers your chances of suffering a stroke.

Fish and consumption of omega-3 fats were assessed using dietary questionnaires, identifying markers of omega-3 fats in the blood and recording use of fish oil supplements. A total of 34,817 cerebrovascular events were recorded during the studies.

After adjusting for several risk factors, participants eating two to four servings a week had a moderate but significant 6 percent lower risk of cerebrovascular disease compared with those eating one or fewer servings of fish a week, while participants eating five or more servings a week had a 12 percent lower risk.

An increment of two servings per week of any fish was associated with a 4 percent reduced risk of cerebrovascular disease.

Several reasons could explain the beneficial impact of eating fish on vascular health, say the researchers. For example, it may be due to interactions between a wide range of nutrients like vitamins and essential amino acids commonly found in fish.

In this study, levels of omega-3 fats in the blood and fish oil supplements were not significantly associated with a reduced stroke risk.