In a new study, researchers found that consumption of oily fish, but not non-oily fish, is linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.
The research was conducted by a team at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
In the study, the team used data from 392,287 middle-aged and older participants (55% women) in the U.K. Biobank to check associations of oily and non-oily fish consumption and fish oil supplements with risk of type 2 diabetes.
They found that during 10 years of follow-up, there were 7,262 cases of type 2 diabetes.
For those who reported less than one serving/week, one serving/week, and two or more servings/week of oily fish consumption, the risks of type 2 diabetes were lower compared with participants who never ate oily fish.
There was no link between eating non-oily fish and the risk for type 2 diabetes.
The team says it is prudent to recommend fresh oily fish as a part of a healthy dietary pattern instead of fish oil supplements for diabetes prevention.
Oily fish contain large amounts of oil throughout their body tissues and in their belly cavity. Examples of oily fish include tuna, salmon, and sardines.
Non-oily fish is a fish with white meat and 2% fat by weight. Examples include black bass, cod, halibut, and striped bass.
Fish oil contains two fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They are found to be good for heart health.
The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests consuming at least two servings of fish, and especially oily fish, each week.
A serving is 3.5 ounces of cooked fish, or about three-quarters of a cup of flaked fish.
One author of the study is Guo-Chong Chen.
The study is published in Diabetes Care.
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