Fish as part of diet

Nations who live by the sea have less degenerative diseases than those in urban continental areas, which can be attributed to a specific diet, and mild dry climate.

Seafood or marine products, with the addition of freshwater fish and crabs represent a valuable food group that serves as the sole source of nutrients in many regions of the world. It significantly differs from other food by specific smell, polyunsaturated long chain fatty acids (so-called omega-3 fatty acids), easy digestible protein of high natural value and high content of rare minerals, especially iodine and selenium.

Why fish?

The fact is that nations living by the sea (including the Mediterranean) have  less degenerative diseases than those in densely populated urban areas of western countries, which is attributed to specific diet (fish, wine, olive oil) and mild, dry climate.

Based on a thorough analysis of human Paleolithic diet from more than 10 000 years ago, a group of researchers concluded that fatty acids (omega-6 and omega-3) and their mutual relation in everyday diet is the key to health life.

A specified optimum is the ratio of 2:1 in favor of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids, such as the Paleolithic man had in his diet eating wild game and fish without grains. When men began eating wild and later cultivated grains, the named ratio began to change and now counts 5:1 and 13:1.

As a result, during the past ten thousand years the balance of fatty acids in human diet was seriously disrupted. In the last 100 years, primarily due to new technologies, the intake of omega-6 fatty acid reached its maximum.

Regulation of fat metabolism

However, Purdue University experts were not the first to came to such conclusions.

Back in 1956 dr. Hugh Sinclair from Oxford University stated that "the largest number of diseases of civilization (coronary disease, thrombosis, cancer, diabetes) is caused by disorder in the metabolism of fat".

The best fat metabolism adjustment is achieved by eating fatty fish. Fish contains plenty of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA DHA). If we add a third type - linoleic fatty acid (from linseed /ALA/) to our diet then we give our body everything it needs to be healthy.

It should be said that the human body does not possess an enzyme that breaks down the double bond of fatty chains larger than 10 carbon atoms, which means that it must be regularly taken in with food because it cannot be created within our bodies.  Fatty acids are critical for proper functioning of the metabolism and are crucial for good health.

Among fatty acids DHA is particularly important. It participates in the functioning of the nervous tissue, retina and brain, therefore it is crucial for cognitive brain function, memory, visual distinguishing, etc.

It is also important to emphasize that omega-3 fatty acids are crucial to cell membrane structure - if there is not enough supply, all cells will suffer together tissues and organs.

Composition and preparation of fish

Fish meat is characterized by high natural value. Advantage of fish over red meat is - easy digestibility. Consequently, even people with health problems can eat fish. As a result, in many countries fish meat is classified as light diet. All nutrients (vitamins and minerals) are present in fish meat so fish meat can be regarded as rich food source. Particularly notable is its content of calcium, which is the reason sardines with bones are recommended.

Regarding preparation, it is best to grill fish without adding fat, except for olive oil coating, so it can release its own juice and fat. Second best way to prepare fish is to boil it with olive oil and third is to roast or fry it. The heat treatment doesn't lead to significant changes in fish composition.

Sources of fatty acids

Fish meals are recommended at least 2 times a week.

Salmon, tuna, sardine and herring are typical fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids; even carp's fat tissue contains similar fatty acids.

If no fish is available, an excellent choice are fish oil capsules, which contains about 10% of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. herring oil).

The importance of omega-3 fatty acids in metabolism can be seen from the fact that they are now regularly added to infant and baby food and to food for pregnant women (especially in the first trimester of pregnancy period). The omission of systematic intake of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish can lead to deterioration of health for vegetarians.

Croats eat the smallest amount of fish meat per capita in Europe (about 4 kg per capita a year) despite the fact that they have 1000 km of coast. This really is a great pity because it turns out that they do not know what is good for their health. It seems centuries-old dietary habits   emphasizing pork, lamb and other types of meat are hard to do away with.