A new study from Spain indicates that a relatively high intake of fish provides no protection against coronary heart disease (CHD), despite what past research has found.
The study, called the Spanish EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) Cohort Study, followed more than 40,000 men and women ages 20 to 69 for an average of 10.4 years. Researchers used medical records and autopsy reports to identify those who had developed CHD—some 609 men (there were not enough women with CHD to analyze findings). Then they compared the intake of fatty fish (and the two important fatty acids in that fish, EPA and DHA) between the people who developed CHD and those who didn’t. They found no difference in intake between the two groups, leading them to conclude that eating fatty fish does not prevent CHD.