Big Fish

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <hsiresearch

HSI e-Alert - Big Fish

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 06:50:00 -0400

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

Confusion about healthcare often exceeds actual information about

healthcare in the mainstream media Tower of Babel. And when a

cockamamie study comes along and receives media attention, the roar of

confusion just grows louder.

 

So let's get one thing straight right here: For the vast majority of

humans, omega-3 fatty acids found in fish will do their hearts a world

of good. But if we're to believe a new study, too much fish

consumption may raise the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most

common type of abnormal heart rhythm.

 

-----------

Fisherman's platter

-----------

 

Back in 1983, more than 17,000 men revealed their dietary habits to

researchers conducting the Physicians' Health Study (PHS). More

recently, a team from New York University Medical Center examined the

PHS data to compare fish intake in 1983 and atrial fibrillation rates

recorded 15 years later.

 

The result: Healthy subjects who ate more than five servings of fish

each week raised their AF risk by more than 60 percent compared to

subjects who ate fish only once a month.

 

These are the bare bones of a study that was presented at the Heart

Rhythm Society's Annual Scientific Session last month. In other words,

the study hasn't been published so we don't have information about

variables such as what types of fish were eaten and how the fish were

prepared. And then there's the detail that would certainly have a huge

influence on the results: How did fish consumption vary between 1983

and 1998? It seems like after just a couple of years of eating six, or

more fish meals per week, quite a few of those voracious fish eaters

might wake up one morning and say, " Please! No more fish! "

 

-----------

Baked & broiled

-----------

 

A HealthDay News article about the NYU study offered an intriguing

theory as to why heavy fish consumption might spike AF rates. Dr.

Marie-Noelle Langan, chief of electrophysiology at New York's Lenox

Hill Hospital, told HealthDay that perhaps the subjects who ate mounds

of fish were also very athletic. She notes that people who exercise by

running excessively are prone to atrial fibrillation.

 

But I think the solution to the AF mystery may lie in this comment

from a press release issued by the Heart Rhythm Society: " These

findings...stand in contrast to those from a U.S. study conducted

among an older population of men and women over the age of 65. In this

older population, fish consumption was associated with reduced risks

of developing AF. "

 

That " U.S. study " is almost certainly a Harvard Medical School study I

told you about in the e-Alert " Kidney Punch " (10/28/04). The Harvard

team examined 12 years of hospital discharge records,

electrocardiograms and dietary data for more than 4,800 people over

the age of 65.

 

Results showed that regular consumption of tuna or broiled or baked

fish was clearly associated with a lower incidence of AF. For subjects

who ate fish five or more times each week, risk of AF was REDUCED by

35 percent, compared to subjects who ate fish less than once a month.

 

In the published study the authors wrote: " Consumption of tuna and

other broiled or baked fish correlated with plasma phospholipid

long-chain n-3 fatty acids, whereas consumption of fried fish or fish

sandwiches (fish burgers) did not. "

 

Now we're getting somewhere! In fact, a fried fish sandwich might do

considerable cardiovascular harm when multiplied by just three or four

each week. In the e-Alert " David Beats Goliath Again " (5/15/03), I

told you about a University of Washington study that demonstrated how

those who regularly eat tuna and other baked or broiled fish (three or

more times per week) may have a significantly lower risk of coronary

heart disease (CHD) than those who eat the same fish infrequently.

Those who regularly eat fried fish, however, could have a higher risk

of both heart attack and death due to CHD.

 

The author of the NYU study - Dr. Anthony Aizer - told HealthDay News:

" The message of this study is not to stop eating fish. "

 

Good call, Dr. Aizer. Perhaps a follow up study will tweak the message

to read simply: Eat fish, but not fried fish.

 

 

****************************************************

 

....and another thing

 

What's the difference between " lymphal " and " nymphal " ?

 

One letter. And one mistake.

 

After sending you the e-Alert " Ticking Away " (5/18/06), about Lyme

disease season, I received this question from an HSI member named

Gary: " About how long does the lymphal stage last? "

 

Good question. As I mentioned in the e-Alert, deer ticks are more

likely to transmit the B. burgdorferi bacterium that causes Lyme

disease when the ticks are in the lymphal stage of development, which

occurs at the end of spring and beginning of summer.

 

Gary might have also asked, " What the heck is the 'lymphal' stage? "

 

Answer: It's " nymphal " stage, misspelled.

 

So to set the record straight, deer ticks are more likely to spread

Lyme disease during the NYMPHAL stage, which lasts a few weeks and is

finished by mid-summer when the nymphs molt. This begins the adult

stage when ticks are inclined to attach to large mammals, such as

white-tailed deer. Unfortunately they may settle for a human if a deer

isn't available. So while late spring and early summer is the high

danger zone for deer ticks, a risk of picking them up lasts throughout

the warm season.

 

According to a Lyme disease Hazard Information Bulletin published by

the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, spotting ticks soon

after they've attached can avoid B. burgdorferi infection.

Transmission of the bacterium is unlikely to occur within the first 36

hours of tick attachment, and most transmissions occur two full days

or more after attachment.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

******************************************

 

Sources:

 

" Varying Effects of Fish Consumption on Atrial Fibrillation " Heart

Rhythm Society press release, 5/18/06, eurekalert.org

" Fish Consumption Linked to Heart Abnormality " HealthDay News,

5/18/06, forbes.com

" Fish Intake and Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation " Circulation,

Vol. 110, No. 4, 7/27/04, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

" Cardiac benefits of fish consumption may depend on the type of fish

meal consumed: the Cardiovascular Health Study. " Circulation: Journal

of the American Heart Association, 2003 Mar 18;107(10);1372-7,

circ.ahajournals.org

" Lyme Disease " Hazard Information Bulletin, U.S. Department of Labor,

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, osha.gov

 

************************