Something Smells Fishy

This past week I came across two fish related studies.  The first, published in Diabetes Care concludes that fish consumption may be beneficial for reducing risk of diabetes. Greater shellfish intake, however, seems to be associated with an increased risk of diabetes.

The second study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, kind of threw me off, since it concludes there isn’t evidence that higher consumption of fish reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. Instead, it says higher intakes may slightly increase the incidence of diabetes.

My first thought on all of this was (forgive me, I can’t resist): something smells fishy.  Then I proceeded to panic, for no good reason. Since I already have diabetes, I shouldn’t be worried about reducing risk of it, or being at an increased risk for it.  But nonetheless, there was fish-related panic on my plate.  Good for me, or not good for me?  I figured the best thing to do was to turn to someone who can think clearly and wisely about many things, including baffling fish studies.  I asked Dr. Mariela Glandt to help me make sense of this.  Here’s what she said:

The study in Diabetes Care looks carefully at the different types of fish, and even concludes that shellfish is associated with an increased risk of diabetes.  The other study which says too much fish is bad for you lumps all the fish together.  It does not break it down into different types of fish, and specifically looks at long chain fatty acids.  There are too many confounding factors to make any statements of comparison between the two studies. Would I recommend fish? Definitely. Long chain fatty acids and vitamin D are known to have good benefits.  I would recommend less shellfish.

Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and has continued to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets).

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Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)