Dietary Specialists Rebuff Tilapia Study

A coalition of 14 dietary specialists spoke out yesterday in opposition of a study released earlier this month that claimed farmed tilapia contains a potentially hazardous balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for patients vulnerable to inflammation.

Published in the July edition of Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the study was led by Floyd "Ski" Chilton, Ph.D., professor of physiology and pharmacology and director of the Wake Forest Center for Botanical Lipids. He is author of the 2005 book "Inflammation Nation," which pegs inflammation as the underlying cause of heart disease, allergies and asthma.

"Cardiologists are telling their patients to go home and eat fish, and if the patients are poor, they're eating tilapia," he says. "And that could translate into a dangerous situation."

The study claimed that the inflammatory potential of tilapia is higher than that of hamburger and pork bacon, all other nutritional content aside.

"Replacing tilapia or catfish with bacon, hamburgers or doughnuts is absolutely not recommended," counters William Harris, Ph.D., director of the Metabolism and Nutrition Research Center at the University of South Dakota-Sioux Falls and a member of the coalition.

The coalition, which included an expert from Wake Forest, points out that omega-6s are not only found in fish like tilapia, but also in vegetable oils, nuts, whole wheat bread and chicken. It also notes that the American Heart Association and the American Dietetic Association agree that "omega-6 fatty acids are, like omega-3s, heart-healthy nutrients which should be part of everyone's diet."

Tilapia and catfish "should be considered better choices than most other meat alternatives," the coalition contends.

In their July 16 Nutrition Wise column on MayoClinic.com, Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D., and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., refuted the Wake Forest study and declared they will continue to eat seafood at least twice weekly, including tilapia, catfish and especially species high in omega-3s, such as salmon, tuna and mackerel.

Tilapia ranked fifth on the U.S. per-capita seafood consumption list at 0.996 pounds in 2006, up from just 0.317 pounds in 2002, while catfish ranked sixth at 0.969 pounds.

"This is all part of a reaction to sound-bite science that has confused consumers and possibly scared some away from an inherently healthy food," says Jennifer Wilmes, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the National Fisheries Institute in McLean, Va. "Is there an on going debate in the scientific community about omega-3 to omega-6 ratios? Yes. Does that mean anyone should suggest ground beef, bacon and doughnuts are equal to or healthier than tilapia? No. That's irresponsible."

Subscribe

Want seafood news sent to your inbox?

You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Diversified Communications | 121 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101 | +1 207-842-5500
None