Not All Fish Is Heart-Healthy

New research shows what to eat for maximum benefit

Here’s the catch, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. A recent Finnish study found that eating mercury-filled fish might undo any heart-health benefit of the omega-3 fatty acids it provides. Scientists tracked the diets of 1,871 men for 14 years and found that those who ate the most fish had higher mercury levels and were 60-70 percent more likely to develop heart disease. Mercury impairs arterial flexibility. To avoid it, reel in the right kind of fish. “Salmon are low in mercury because they eat mainly plankton, not other fish,” says the study author Jyrki Virtanen, Ph.D., R.D. Cod and white fish are also light in the heavy metal.

Mens Health, September 2005