Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Fish Twice a Week Cuts Diabetics' Kidney Risks
Dietary change enhances blood glucose control, study finds

(HealthDay News) -- Eating fish twice a week may help reduce the risk of kidney disease in people with diabetes, according to a British study of more than 22,000 adults, including 517 with diabetes.

The participants' fish consumption was determined using dietary and lifestyle questionnaires. People with diabetes who ate less than one serving of fish per week were about four times more likely (18 percent) to have protein in their urine than those who ate at least two servings of fish per week (4 percent).

"Protein in the urine is one of the earliest signs of kidney disease," noted study co-author Dr. Amanda Adler, of the Medical Research Council epidemiology unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

The study was published in the November issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

Adler and her colleagues suggested the "unique nutrient composition of fish" may benefit kidney function by enhancing blood glucose control and improving plasma lipid profiles.

People who consume fish may have other lifestyle factors that reduce their risk of having protein in the urine (albuminuria), but the study design attempted to account for that possibility, Adler said.

"Diet is a relatively simple lifestyle change to make, and the benefits could be significant," Dr. Kerry Willis, senior vice president for scientific activities at the U.S. National Kidney Foundation, said in a foundation news release.

In addition to eating fish, other measures that help lower the risk of albuminuria include tight control of glucose, keeping blood pressure under control, quitting smoking, and following a diabetic diet as prescribed by a doctor, according to the kidney foundation.

More information

The U.S. National Kidney Foundation has more about diabetes and kidney disease.
-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: U.S. National Kidney Foundation, news release, Nov. 3, 2008

Thanks for this Ron, I hope it is ok to be eating way more than two portions a week though, I am on more like five. This may be the way my kidneys have been escaping.

If this gets out, could it help New Orleans?

I wonder if fish oil provides the same results?

It says "unique nutrient composition of fish", that might mean the oil alone is not the same. If this prevents other complications of diabetes too, I wonder if it affects the Innuit and the high rate of T2 they get when they stop eating the traditional diet...they eat loads of fish, traditionally, surely?

I am getting off the forum now, I am waffling.

We have a friend that has been giving us 2 or 3 fresh caught fish from a local river for the past several weeks... I thought I was eating cheap, but it turns out I was eating healthy..

I think food is always more healthy than a supplement. I know the argument though, that you'd have to eat a ton of this or that to get the vitamins that are in just one little pill... oh well...

ever since I became a non vegetarian...I inclined naturally to seafood.

i used to hate the sight of fish and its smell in super markets before so it was a surprise that that is what I liked. I eat fish almost on all days.

I take fish oil to but i found that i need to take atleast 4g of it to have any impact but still it is subtle nice skin and hair shine ...nothing else i found.

[QUOTE=Cajunboy47]

Fish caught by friends is cheap, and healthy, and tastes better too.



Do you want to come over here sometime before March and try to find enough sun to get vitamin D without a supplement? Actually I prefer food too, I find it easier to remember to eat than take a pill.

Fish can be so full of pollutants, not to mention expensive when you don't have friends giving it to you, that is what keeps me from eating a ton of it. The fish oil capsules are distilled from heavy metals and stuff commonly found in fish nowadays.

I also take LOTS of fish oil to help with my arthritis.

I would LOVE to have someone giving us fish! That's a lucky break for you. I love seafood, but don't get to eat as much of it as I'd like.

You might find you can get information for your area about what fish has less heavy metals in it Nancy. I realise that won't make it any cheaper, it is cheaper than meat here, but that is living on an island for you. In France we live by a fishing lake, and always being offered newly caught fish, and in Spain we are on the coast too, so it is always easy for me to get. I eat around arthritis too, and fish definitely helps there. I am glad you can at least get fish oil to cover it.

exactly nancy.........most fish is polluted. There are some types that are okay..........wild salmon and some others. I eat fish about three times a week but I still supplement with the fish oil.

Hmmmm...I never throught about that ...I live on a lake which has lots of fish...i see people fishing everyday from my house. I dont think it is polluted because it doesnt have public access. If I only had a boat.

I've got a solution for those who think their fish might come from poluted waters. Try eating it only at night and with the lights out. If it is glowing, don't eat it...

Not only are we getting free fish. Today, our friend came over with 3 different kinds of fish and cooked them for us. It was delicious. Nothing poluted could taste that good and if it did, who cares...

I live in the south and all of our water flows from a whole bunch of northern states, so it can't possibly be polluted, right?

Oooops, it is 945pm and as I just turned the lights out and I noticed I was glowing in the dark.... yikes! Maybe if I eat enough fish, I can become an electric power company.....

Too many toxins in warm water fish for them to be considered healthy.Seafood and/or fish oil pills may be best option.You seem
to need to take about 4 fish oil pills a day with a decent amount
of EPA and small amount of DHA.
Go shrimp/crab
Eddie

My favorite sources of fish are sardines canned in olive oil and salmon sashimi. I have those about once a week each and sometimes I also have canned tuna salad. Hopefully that will get me enough Omegas and DHAs without resorting to fish oil supps -- which cause me to break out in acne for some reason.