GET HEALTHY WITH SEAFOOD AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK.
There's no doubt that healthful eating habits contribute to a healthy body. It has been known for decades that heart health, weight control, illness prevention and overall body functioning are all affected by what we eat. Eating seafood twice a week is good for your heart, your brain and your entire body! Health experts from around the world are touting the benefits of a seafood diet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. So have seafood for dinner tonight!

PREVENTING STROKE.
Although less is known about the relationship between the omega-3 fatty acids in seafood and the prevention of stroke, findings from the Nurses Health Study, which were published in the January 23, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that women who ate seafood more than once per month had a lower risk of stroke when compared with those who ate seafood less than once a month. Moreover, women who ate seafood two or more times per week had a significantly reduced risk of thrombotic infarction, the type of stroke most common in the U.S. Fish consumption is also linked to lower risk of stroke in men according to a major epidemiological study.

PROTECTION AGAINST HEART DISEASE.
The cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids have been documented in many prospective studies and randomized clinical trials. For example, the findings of a small clinical trial published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that patients who were given fish oil concentrate for two years had lower triglyceride levels and minimal artery blockage when compared to those receiving a placebo. Moreover, in a 1998 issue of Diabetes Care, a meta-analysis of studies on diabetes and fish oils found a 30 percent reduction in patient triglyceride levels, particularly among subjects with Type I diabetes who are at greatly increased risk of heart disease than people without the disease.

Along with these smaller studies, there have been a number of large trials reporting that omega-3 fatty acids in seafood provide a protective mechanism of reducing the risk of irregular heartbeats. One major study called the GISSI-Prevenzione secondary prevention trial is particularly noteworthy. Reported in 2002 in the journal Circulation, this study of 11,323 subjects who survived their first heart attack demonstrated that even a small amount (about one gram a day) of the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood was effective in cutting the chance of cardiac death by 45 percent-nearly half.

SCHOLARS AGREE ABOUT OMEGA-3
"Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can stop arrhythmia before it triggers sudden death from heart attacks. That makes [seafood] as potentially potent as any high tech heart drug and considerably cheaper to stock up on.” --Dr. Alexander Leaf, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that Americans aged two and over get two eight-ounce servings a week of foods rich in the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). In making this recommendation, the 13-member 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee whose scientific review formed the basis for updating the government's nutrition advice, concluded that higher levels of EPA and DHA are associated with the reduced risk of both sudden death and death from coronary heart disease in adults. Specifically, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee estimates that there could be a 30 percent reduction in coronary deaths if people increased their intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Check out MyPyramid.gov for more information.