Abstract:

Key points
• International agencies concerned with health, together with medical and nutritional health communities, unanimously recommend the consumption of fish by the general public.
• The advice is based primarily on the benefits to heart function of the long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils, although brain development, mental health and the prevention of cancer, autoimmune diseases and diabetes are also cited.
• Insufficient attention has been paid to individual studies and meta-analyses that fail to establish a significant benefit to health of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Insufficient attention has also been paid to the potential environmental impact of increased fish consumption, given the serious decline in global fish stocks.
• Research is needed to clarify the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. At the same time, alternative sources of omega-3 fatty acids should be sought.
• Dietary recommendations to increase fish consumption may not be sustainable.

Reference: Jenkins D.J.A., Sievenpiper J.L., Pauly D., Sumaila U.R., Kendall C.W.C. and Mowat F.M., 2009. Are dietary recommendations for the use of fish oils sustainable? Canadian Medical Association journal, 180:633.

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