Your Heart Manual

Diet Please don’t fry me! I died once already!

Frying fish kill its benefits!!!

• When fish is fried, it loses 70-85 percent of its omega-3 fatty acids. [76] Deep-frying makes it toxic….

• In a large study of 16,479 participants free of heart disease at the onset of the study which lasted 5 years, fried fish intake of two or more servings per week was associated with a 60 percent increased risk of cardiovascular events. Given the increased intake of fried fish in the stroke belt and among African Americans, these data suggest that dietary fried fish intake may contribute to geographic and racial disparities in CVD. [77] Mercury in Fish…

• Mercury enters our rivers and oceans through coal burning and mining and other anthropogenic sources. Fish then ingest the mercury. Mercury levels increase up the food chain through biomagnification. (Bigger fish eating smaller fish) Good news is that due to recent worldwide closure of coal power plants mercury levels in fish started decreasing!

• Typical dietary mercury levels have not been shown to raise cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease or stroke risk. [78] • However, results do not change public health efforts to decrease mercury contamination of fish and the environment, as mercury can cause neurological effects, especially in children when consumed by pregnant or nursing mothers.

• Examples of fish with the least mercury include: flounder, herring and salmon. Fish with the highest mercury content include orange roughy, tuna (Bigeye, Ahi), and swordfish.

• To view the whole list of fish and their mercury content level you can visit The Smart Seafood Buying Guide. (https://www.nrdc.org/stories/smart-seafood-buying-guide) [79] Chapter 2 - Page 42 of 246