Fishy science:
Research design unique fish diets that may make you healthier
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Photo by Tom Campbell
Purdue researcher Paul Brown says people's health could be improved
by eating farm-raised fish fed specially formulated diets high
in fatty acids.
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By Susan A. Steeves
Farm-raised fish that eat specially
formulated diets high in fatty acids could improve people's health and
also satisfy different palates, according to Purdue University researchers
who are concocting designer menus for aquatic creatures.
Fatty acid feed supplements for fish may help people get government-recommended
amounts of health-enhancing macronutrients, says Paul Brown, a Purdue
forestry and natural resources professor. The additive he is testing
is a type of omega-6 fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA),
which researchers have found is a weapon against cancers and diabetes.
"We found by adding CLA to fishes' diets we can get more of these
fatty acids into the fishes' tissues than is found in any other animal,"
says Brown, a nutritional aquaculturist. "Meat and milk from ruminant
animals are good sources of CLA, but these fish retain even higher levels."
Brown's research gains added importance based on a recent National
Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's recommendation that people
increase their consumption of food containing alpha-linoleic acid (an
omega-3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid). The institute
set the daily requirements, or Dietary Reference Intakes, of these macronutrients
necessary to maintain health, and noted that cold-water fish, such as
swordfish, tuna and salmon, are prime sources of omega-3.
Omega-3 and omega-6 are essential fatty acids, meaning they are important
for health, but the human body can't produce them. Fish and shellfish
already are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids important for building
cells; for brain, nerve and eye function; and for lowering risks of
high cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
"Fish have always been the original and standard measure for good
sources of omega-3," Brown says. "But now we find that we
can introduce other fatty acids into fish. Next we must determine if
there is an optimum ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that is
healthy."
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