Regular seafood consumption is linked with optimal health
from birth to old age, head to toe.
Fetal brain development, heart health, and brain health as we age are all
home runs. But one area the jury is
still out on is the role eating seafood plays in cancer prevention. This week we got two new pieces of the
puzzle.

First, emerging
research from Louisiana State University found ceramides, fat compounds
found in oysters, can restrict blood vessel growth and development of breast
cancer cells in test tubes and in rats. This
lab work is an exciting first step – more science, including human studies,
will need to follow before dietary recommendations are made.

Second is a great example of a human study – a 22-year study of the
relation between fish intake and colon cancer in over 20,000 men, just
published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition. This study found
that eating fish was not related to the number of colon cancer cases. But among men diagnosed with colon cancer,
those consuming fish five or more times a week had a 48 percent lower risk
of prostate cancer death than did men consuming fish less than once
weekly. So fish intake may not prevent
prostate cancer, but improve survival.

As experts explore the role
between the healthy fats in fish and cancer prevention, eat up because “perhaps
the best reason to eat…fish on a regular basis is that they are good sources of
protein without the heavy dose of saturated fat and calories that usually come
with it,” according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. The group “recommends that people concerned
with reducing cancer risk and managing their weight cover 2/3 (or more) of
their plate with vegetables, fruit, whole grains and beans and 1/3 (or less)
animal protein. One of the best possible choices for that 1/3 or less’
is fish.”