he omega-3 fatty acids in fish—especially the cold-water
varieties of salmon—are good for your heart, brain, eyes
and even your joints. Federal dietary guidelines and the American
Heart Association both recommend eating fish twice a week to reduce
the risk of cardiovascular disease.
But some people just don’t like the taste of fish. Will
a fish-oil pill produce the same results? Yes and no, say the
researchers.
TO EXPLAIN: a recent study reported in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that fish-oil capsules
are as effective as eating fish for enriching the blood and other
body tissues with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But, according
to the research report, that doesn’t mean fish-oil pills
and fish are equally beneficial.
The big unknown has to do with “bioavailability,”
or the degree to which a substance taken in pill form is absorbed
and used by the body, according to researchers William S. Harris,
Ph.D., of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and his colleagues
at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine.
“There are things that can change the blood lipids but don’t
do anything for the heart and vice versa,” said Dr. Harris.
In other words, actually eating fish also brings with it proteins
and minerals and other factors that are good for our health that
the capsules don’t bring.
So it’s good to eat more fish—and a fish-oil capsule
may help too. Many people do both.
For more information, see www.ajcn.org.
Search: author William S. Harris. 
—Adapted
from the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter
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